


Shining Armour and Silver Linings

by DrawnToDarkness



Category: Primeval
Genre: F/M, Medieval
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-26
Updated: 2013-09-26
Packaged: 2017-12-27 17:06:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/981427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrawnToDarkness/pseuds/DrawnToDarkness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every cloud had a silver lining, or at least that's what Jess was telling herself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shining Armour and Silver Linings

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: An amazingly big thank you to 'Youaretrulybrilliant' and Lesley for the absolutely brilliant graphics made for this story.  
> Author's Note 2: This is the first story that'll feature the return of two much loved characters – I've got another on the backburner I'm hoping to be able to work on properly soon.

Every cloud had a silver lining, apparently. That was what she kept telling herself as she fought against both the ropes tying her wrists together behind her back and against another wave of unconsciousness as the drug he'd given her worked its way through her system.

Ethan – Patrick – whatever the hell his name was – had survived his trip to the past. That meant there was a pretty good chance his brother had, too, right? So… Silver lining. Even if she hadn't actually seen Danny Quinn and there was a pretty good chance the former team leader might be dead even though the psychopath he'd gone after was far too fit and healthy for her liking.

Especially since he'd decided, for some reason she couldn't understand, to come after her.

Emily, yes, though Jess wouldn't wish it on her friend for anything. Emily and Ethan – Patrick – had a history; he'd abducted her once before and Emily had, after a glass of wine too many on a rare girl's night in, admitted to a sympathetic Jess and Abby that Patrick had blamed her for the death of Charlotte, one of their fellow travellers and Emily's best friend who the psychopath had formed an attachment to.

But why her?

Maybe because she was so easy to get to, Jess mused, taking in a deep breath to quell the nausea rolling through her stomach – another side effect of whatever he'd drugged her with.

She'd been running in the park, her usual route, when Patrick had appeared out of nowhere. She'd struggled, fought, done everything she could remember from the self-defence class Abby had insisted she attend when her former flatmate had discovered Jess's hobby of going running on her own first thing in the morning.

It hadn't helped.

He'd been too big, too strong. The drug on the cloth he'd held over her mouth was too powerful.

Even knowing all of those things, Jess couldn't keep from berating herself, a little voice at the back of her mind taunting her that he wouldn't have been able to kidnap Abby so easily. The blond woman would've kicked his arse, Jess thought as her eyes closing for a few seconds before she remembered why that wasn't a good idea.

The car he'd bundled her into hit something in the road – a pot hole or speed bump, she couldn't tell – and she was jostled in the cramped quarters of the boot. Her body protested, and she couldn't stop a muffled cry from escaping her.

_Concentrate._

The sharp command sounded so much like Becker's voice that it took her a second longer than normal to realise it was inside her head and that the Captain wasn't squashed into the boot of the car with her.

And that was a shame, Jess lamented. A big shame. She wouldn't necessarily have objected to being forced into such a tightly confined space if there was a particular warm body to snuggle into, arms wrapped around her, holding her tight against a chest she vaguely remembered being held against once before…

_Jessica! Focus!_

She blinked rapidly in the darkness surrounding her, trying to use the memory of Becker's voice to cement herself in the real world. She had to do something; she couldn't just lie there and wait for someone to magically save her – especially since she was pretty sure no one knew she needed saving. It all depended on how much time had passed between her initial encounter with Patrick and waking up in the car boot; if it was after 8am, someone at the ARC might have raised the alarm but chances were it'd be later before someone noticed she wasn't at her desk. She was always one of the first of the day staff to arrive though technically wasn't expected to be at her desk before 9am.

Someone would notice eventually, but she couldn't count on it being in time for them to help her.

Damn it.

It would be so easy, though, to just give in to her body's demands and go to sleep. So very easy to let her eyelids flutter shut...

The car stopped suddenly, jolting her from her thoughts. She froze in place, listening intently as a car door opened and then slammed. She heard footsteps – something crunching under foot, like gravel or twigs or...

The boot opened abruptly and she found herself blinking at the unexpected light that suddenly swamped her.

Patrick Quinn loomed above her, a humourless smile quirky his mouth as he reached for her. He lifted her effortlessly, despite her best efforts at getting her drug-addled body to fight back, and kept her pressed against him even as he set her on her feet. She might have been grateful for the support in staying on her feet if it hadn't come in the form of an arm pressing against her neck, the other around her middle in a painful clinch.

"Walk," he ordered, his breath hot against her ear. "Quickly."

She was about to refuse when she felt the sharp sting of the point of a knife against her throat. Swallowing, she forced her body to obey and let him lead her into what she could see was a densely wooded area.

Having half expected him to find some sort of clearing in which to kill her – or worse – Jess was surprised when she heard a number of different voices, most of whom sounded familiar the closer they got.

"What..?"

"Ethan?"

_"Jess!"_

She looked around as much as she could with the arm tightening around her windpipe, her vision growing a little cloudy as her air supply was restricted. She saw Matt move protectively in front of Emily, Abby lift her EMD as Connor stared at them open-mouthed. She saw Becker take a step towards them, a look of grim determination etched across his features.

"Any closer and I'll kill her." She heard Patrick's voice as though from far away and felt it rumble in his chest at her back. "Open the anomaly and move away from it."

"What are you planning, Patrick?" It was Matt who asked, his voice as calm as Jess had ever heard it.

"Open the goddamn anomaly!" Patrick all but roared, making Jess wince against him.

"Okay, okay. We can open it." Matt nodded to Connor, was still crouched beside the locking device. "We can open it but you have to stay calm." When Patrick didn't respond, Matt's gaze shifted to Jess. "Jess, are you okay?"

How she was supposed to answer that with a knife at her throat and a maniac at her back, Jess wasn't entirely sure. Becker, it seemed, agreed with her.

"Of course she's not alright," the Captain muttered, his EMD pointed at Jess and Patrick. "She's got a bloody knife to her throat."

Jess saw Matt gave the soldier an exasperated look before the team leader turned his attention back to her. "Jess?"

"Swimmy," was all Jess managed to choke out. "Drugged."

Patrick pulled her tighter against him, making her whimper. "Move away from the anomaly and she won't get hurt."

Becker snorted. "Let her go and then we'll move away."

"Nice try, Captain. Don't you remember how this ended last time?" Even without looking at him, Jess knew there was a smirk on Patrick's face. She shuddered, remembering the moment she saw Becker crumple to the floor under the firepower of two EMD shots, and prayed the Captain wouldn't do anything foolhardy. "Now move."

"Please." Jess was surprised when she realised the plea had come from her. More so when it actually worked and Becker slowly stood aside.

Connor unlocked the anomaly and Patrick started ushering her towards it. Before they could get close enough to go through, its surface shifted and not one but two familiar faces ran through it.

Danny Quinn. Sarah Page.

Jess heard the gasps of those around her, heard someone whisper Sarah's name almost reverently, and then she was being pulled towards the golden lights of the anomaly.

"Move!" Patrick yelled, desperation in his voice. "Move or I'll swear I'll cut her throat!"

Knowing that the 'her' in question was herself, Jess did her best to move with him. She was dimly aware of Danny trying to get his brother to calm down, of Becker telling the man to let her go...

... and then she was on the other side of the anomaly, staring at green fields with not a single person in sight.

"You'll be useful to me here," Patrick told her, a grim sort of satisfaction in his voice. "Do as you're told and I might even let you live."

Whether it was the drugs or the shock of actually being on the other side of an anomaly, Jess wasn't sure. Regardless, her eyes rolled back into her head and she let herself fall into oblivion, not caring if Patrick caught her before she hit the ground.

* * *

 

"We have to go after them!"

"We can't."

"Matt!"

"They're your rules, Becker."

"Screw the rules! He has Jess, Matt."

The two men stood facing each other, in front of the anomaly that Connor had locked on Matt's orders. Becker glared at Matt, his grip on his EMD tightening as he thought about Jess, about the seconds Patrick was gaining on them.

About what dangers she could be exposed to on the other side of the anomaly.

Distantly, he was aware of Connor and Abby talking to Danny and Sarah – Sarah! – about where they'd been and how they'd both come to be alive and well and in the present time. His main focus was the Field Co-ordinator, though, and the fact that he'd failed her by letting a psychopath like Patrick take her through an anomaly.

"We don't know what we'd be up against on the other side, Becker." Matt spoke in his frustratingly calm way, his eyes sympathetic and worried but his stance unrelenting as he blocked the way to the locking device – and to Jess. "It's too dangerous to go through unprepared. We can't help her if we don't know what we'd be facing."

"We can help you with that." Sarah broke away from the small group that had formed around her and Danny, exchanging a knowing look with the former team leader as she smiled wanly. "We know what's on the other side of the anomaly."

Matt looked torn, his gaze flickering between the locked anomaly and the desperate man standing in front of him. With a sigh, he realised that no matter what he said, Becker would be determined to go through – and he didn't have the heart to stop him. "Okay, but make it quick. We don't know how long the anomaly will stay open."

Sarah nodded, her smile unsteady, and reached behind her instinctively to take the hand Danny held out for her. "The anomaly leads back to fifteenth century England. If you're going to go through it, you'll need to know what to expect on the other side – and you won't be able to take that gun, Becker. Not without them immediately knowing you don't belong amongst them."

"You'll need a change of clothes," Danny chimed in, arching an eyebrow when Becker gave him a dark look. "And a couple of other things, as well. Is there any way we can send someone to go shopping...?"

"Tell me what you need. I'll see to it that it's there." The voice that answered came over the comms, and belonged to no other than James Lester, the Director of the ARC. "Officially I will deny all knowledge of this rescue attempt, Captain."

"And unofficially?" Becker asked quietly, knowing the answer even before Lester spoke.

"Unofficially, do whatever you have to to bring her home."

* * *

 

A sword.

Clothes befitting of the time.

A leather bag with an assortment of things Danny had insisted he'd need including a smaller EMD that could be kept from sight and a basic anomaly detector they'd used to locate their way home.

"It's what Patrick will be looking for," Danny told him quietly, after demonstrating how the device worked. "He's obsessed with travelling through them. I don't know what he wants to find on the other side but he won't stop until he finds it." A troubled expression flittered over the older man's features. "I'm sorry, mate. I should've ended this when I had the chance."

While part of him agreed, another appreciated how difficult – how impossible – that would've been for Danny to do. Becker gave him a small nod. "I wouldn't have expected you to," he said honestly, holding Danny's gaze as he continued. "But if I have to..."

"Do it. Don't hesitate." There was no hesitation from Danny, his expression solemn. "He's not my brother anymore, Becker. I don't know who he is."

They were silent for a moment, letting the bitter moment pass.

"What else is in here?" Becker wondered aloud, rummaging through the bag of things Danny had insisted he needed. "What's this...?"

It was a piece of paper, neatly folded. Frowning, Becker opened it up, his eyebrows arching in surprise when he saw a sketched image of Jess smiling up at him from the paper.

"You can't take a photograph," Danny told him with a one shouldered shrug. "I asked Lester if he could have someone sketch a quick image of her. A portrait. It might come in handy if you need to ask around."

Becker nodded but he wasn't really listening. He stared at the picture he held in his hands, the simple sketch such a good likeness that he felt something in his chest ache at the thought of being without her.

What if he was too late? What if their preparations meant he got there only to find her lifeless body on the other side of the anomaly and Patrick nowhere to be seen?

The logical thing to do in that situation would be to come straight back, to bring Jess's body home for her family. But logic would go out of the window, Becker suspected, and a need for vengeance would take its place.

"Let's do this." He didn't notice that he'd interrupted Sarah mid-sentence, having been oblivious when she joined the conversation and started to dispense advice on how he could blend in with the locals. "I can't waste any more time," he added, a touch of an apology in his voice as he looked at his long thought lost friends.

Sarah gave him a speculative look that turned into a knowing smile. "Go and get your girl, Captain," she told him teasingly. "We'll be here when you get back."

His hand tightening on the drawing, it didn't even occur to him to deny that that was indeed what Jess was. His girl. His. And if Patrick had hurt her in any way...

The anomaly reopened as Becker walked towards it, stopping only to acknowledge his teammates. Matt didn't look pleased in the slightest, but Becker suspected that was more to do with Lester's order that no one else be allowed through the anomaly than anything else. "One rogue team member with a hero complex I can explain to the minister, the whole lot of you going off on an unauthorised rescue mission is something else entirely."

"You sure about this?" Matt asked quietly, his gaze shifting from the anomaly to Becker. "There'll be no back up, no way we can help if you run into trouble."

"It's Jess, Matt." And it was as simple as that where Becker was concerned. "Would you still be standing here if it was Emily he'd taken with him?"

The answer was no and they both knew it. Just as Connor – or Abby or Emily – wouldn't have been able to stand back and do nothing if it'd been their other half Patrick had kidnapped.

Not that Jess was his other half. Not officially. Unofficially, though, they'd been getting closer. Moving towards the line between strictly friends and colleagues and something more. They'd been spending a lot more time together, both during and outside of work. They'd been having lunch together a lot more than usual – well, alone together. It wasn't unheard of for the team to meet in the break room – usually purely by chance than by arrangement – but recently, he and Jess had been eating alone rather than with the rest of the team. Whether it was coincidence or their teammates playing matchmaker, Becker wasn't sure and hadn't been about to complain.

It was... nice, getting to know her better. Nicer than nice. He'd been surprised at first at how much they'd found to talk about. At how much he enjoyed listening to her – and how easy it actually was for him to open up a little bit, too.

"We'll keep a team standing by," Matt said eventually as their other teammates slowly joined them to say goodbye. "But if it closes, mate..."

"I know." It was a risk he had to take. "Fifteenth century England, though. There are worse places to get stuck."

"Just be careful." Abby gave him a small smile and a quick, impulsive hug that took him by surprise. "Bring her back, yeah? I can't get married without my wedding planner."

He gave her a small nod as she pulled away, knowing Jess was more to her than that and not doubting for a second that the Temple-Maitland wedding would be indefinitely postponed until the unofficial wedding planner – and official maid of honour – was back or at least until...

No. The other alternative wasn't one he wanted to think about.

"Good luck, Becker." Emily's expression was grave and he wondered if she was remembering her own time as Patrick's captive. "Give Jess my love when you find her."

Before he could agree, Connor cut in. "It's not Becker that needs luck." The scientist's grin was confident but concern lurked in the depth of his eyes. "It's Patrick who's gonna need it when Becker catches up to him."

The vote of confidence aside, Becker knew what his teammates were thinking: that this might be the last time they saw each other.

He'd never thought he would willingly walk through an anomaly, not after what had happened to the others – to Connor and Abby, Danny and Sarah. Even knowing they were all somehow back and alive – even Sarah, when he'd heard her screams as she'd died at the claws of a future predator – he knew the odds were stacked against them that he and Jess would be as fortunate.

He thought briefly of his family, of his mother and siblings. His father would probably handle the news of his disappearance best; he was a military man through and through and almost expected the worst to happen but his mother... His mother had once begged him not to join the Army, crying bitterly when her youngest child had denied her one request and broke her heart.

'I'm sorry, Mum,' he thought as he moved towards the anomaly. His last thought before stepping through was of her, and how just a few days ago he'd caught himself idly wondering what she'd make of the woman he was going after.

* * *

 

There was someone beside her; she could hear them breathing. Jess froze, her heart beginning to pound in her chest as she held herself still and tried to remember where she was – and how she'd gotten then.

It came back to her, gradually at first and then at a dizzying rate. Patrick. The team. The anomaly. Becker. Danny. Sarah.

_... Sarah?_

Shaking herself mentally, Jess decided there'd be time to figure that out later. First thing first – she needed to know where she was and what had happened in between blacking out and waking up.

The person beside her moved fitfully, causing the bed they were lying on to dip. Bed? Alarm spiked inside her but she tampered down the accompanying nausea and forced herself to open her eyes.

Not Patrick.

Not even a man at all, thank god.

The woman – girl – beside her could be no more than six or seven. She was pretty with a mass of red hair, but even in sleep, the girl looked troubled. One side of her face was already coming out in a large, purple bruise and there were visible tear tracks on her face from where she'd been crying.

Not wanting to disturb her companion, Jess sat up slowly. Her head protested the move and the room spun for a few moments before righting itself. She looked around at the sparse decor, all dark wood and no source of light but for the candles flickering in plain iron holders, and felt like she'd stepped onto the set of one of the historical dramas she was secretly fond of.

Glancing down at herself when she realised what she was wearing wasn't as restrictive as she remembered her running gear feeling, Jess gasped and that caused the girl beside her to wake up with a jolt.

"Hello." Fighting the urge to cover herself with the blanket even though the white garment she'd somehow come to be wearing still preserved her modesty, Jess fixed what she hoped was a friendly smile on her face.

"Hello." The girl sat up and tucked her knees against her chest as she stared warily around the room before turning her attention back to Jess. "Did he kidnap you also?"

Assuming the 'he' was Patrick, Jess nodded slowly. "I think so. To be honest, I don't really remember."

The girl gave her a strange look but said nothing, just continued to stare.

"My name is Jessica," Jess introduced herself, deciding to use her full name before realising that, depending on where and when she was, Jessica might seem like just as odd a name as Jess.

The girl was silent for another moment or so before replying. "My name is Mary."

"It's nice to meet you, Mary." Jess smiled again but the girl – Mary – didn't smile back. "It's a lovely name," Jess offered, "my grandmother was called Mary, too."

"My mother is Elizabeth," Mary answered slowly, her grey eyes narrowing almost expectantly. "And my father is... My father is Henry."

Sensing the girl wanted some sort of reaction but not sure what kind of reaction to give, Jess instead chose to change the subject. "Do you know where he is? The man who brought us here?"

Mary shook her head. "He is gone. He said he would send word to my parents. I believe he seeks a ransom." And it was a ransom the girl clearly wasn't sure would be paid – or wasn't sure she wanted to be paid. "Will your parents pay your random? Or your husband?"

"Oh, I'm not married." Jess ignored the shocked look on the young girl's face but felt obligated to add a "not yet" to her denial. Just as she felt obliged to force out the mental picture of the man who immediately appeared in her mind at the word 'husband'. "And I doubt he will be able to send word to my parents."

Especially since they probably weren't even born yet, Jess mused, having a feeling that the era she was in was quite considerably before their time. She was wondering how she could ask Mary what year it was without appearing like a complete idiot when the sound of footsteps clomping up wooden stairs towards their room made both of them turn towards the door.

At the naked fear on Mary's face, Jess pushed her own aside and climbed out of bed, tugging the unresisting girl with her. She positioned them so their backs were against the wall and so she was between the door and the child just as it swung open.

Patrick's gaze searched first for them in the bed, a frown creasing his brown when he found it empty. When his gaze landed on them, his brown creased and he smiled instead, throwing the bag he'd brought with him onto the bed.

"My lady, Your Highness." His bow was mocking to say the least. "Please, dress quickly. We have places to be and people I cannot wait for you to meet."

A whimper escaped Mary as Jess glanced between her captor and the young girl with wide eyes. _'Your Highness?'_

* * *

 

There was nothing but trees on the other side of the anomaly. No Patrick, no Jess. No body lying on the ground at his feet.

Slipping the sketch he belatedly realised he was still holding onto into his pocket, Becker took a moment to get his bearings before deciding to follow what looked like a well-trodden path away from the anomaly and though the trees.

He didn't know how long he'd been walking before a sound made him stop in his tracks. Getting louder, he quickly identified it as horse hooves and managed to move aside, pressing his back against a tree, just as a group of men riding horses appeared on the narrow path.

Expecting them to continue passed, Becker was surprised when the leader of the group tugged sharply on the reins of his horse, a white stallion, and held up a clenched fist in a signal for the others to come to a halt.

"You there! Have you seen a man pass this way?"

Taking a step forward and noting the armour the man who'd spoken was wearing, Becker shook his head. "I'm afraid I haven't seen anyone. I'm looking for someone myself. A man who kidnapped my--" He stopped himself from saying colleague, hesitating only a second longer before finishing his sentence, "betrothed."

It felt odd to say, and sounded even odder. But Sarah had warned him against calling Jess just a friend as she'd said it wouldn't convey the sense of urgency he had in finding her. A friend might have left willingly with another man, but someone he was betrothed to might not – or at least if she had, his need to find her might be better understood by those he needed to question.

The man frowned and slid from the saddle of his horse. "Describe him," he demanded, his tone brokering no room for argument.

With only a slight hesitation, Becker did so, describing Patrick as clearly as he could. As he watched closely, the expression on his rapt audience's face grew darker. "You know of him?"

"He is the man we are looking for. He has taken your betrothed?" The man gave Becker a sympathetic look.

"He has. This is her." Pulling the sketch from his pocket, Becker quickly unfolded it and passed it to the stranger. "You haven't seen her, have you?"

The man shook his head but took the piece of paper. "Sir Lawrence," he called, turning as one of the other men – another knight, if his armour was any indication, got down from his horse. "You saw the man we seek earlier with another woman. Was it this man's betrothed?"

Sir Lawrence took the proffered sketch, his expression grave as he nodded. "Yes, Your Grace. I believe so."

_'Your Grace …'_ Becker did his best to school his features as the man – apparently of someone of high standing – turned his attention back to him.

"This man has kidnapped the Princess Mary, daughter to King Henry and Queen Elizabeth. Join us, and we will help you find your woman."

Not sure if he really had a choice in the matter but grateful for the help in finding Jess, Becker found himself nodding his agreement. "I would be honoured to join you," he said, adding a nod he hoped was respectful enough.

Apparently it was, as the man – Earl Henry Crompton of Wallington, Becker would later learn – had a spare horse brought forward for him.

* * *

 

Never before had Jess been grateful for her love of historical dramas – or an interest in fashion from times gone by. Still, it was a struggle even with Mary's not always helpful suggestions to get them both fastened into the dresses Patrick had acquired from somewhere. The young princess, as Jess had learned she was, was not used to dressing herself and had looked to Jess for guidance.

They'd managed, though, and both looked presentable. In other circumstances, Jess might have enjoyed the opportunity to dress up in a real medieval dress – even if the bodice pinched a little, it did amazing things to enhance what nature had given her. As it was, though, she covered herself as best as she could with the shawl that had been supplied so as to avoid the lecherous stares of Patrick and the other men who had been waiting for them downstairs.

"I demand to know where you are taking us." Drawing herself up to her full height, which still fell short of Jess by a few inches, Mary squared her shoulders as the men, three including their abductor, began to hustle them towards the door. "You cannot treat me this way."

"I think you'll find I can treat you however I want to, Princess." Patrick smirked at her, while his two companions looked on.

Taking a deliberate step in front of Mary as Patrick advanced towards her, Jess arched an eyebrow at the man responsible for her situation. "I'm not going to let you hurt her, Patrick."

He stopped, a grin playing on his lips as he arched an eyebrow of his own. "And what would you be prepared to do to stop me, Jessica?"

Squaring her shoulders against the very obvious once over he gave her, Jess fought to keep her voice steady. "Whatever it takes. I won't let you hurt her."

Patrick took another step closer but stopped when one of his companions cleared their throat.

"If we are to meet my contact, we must leave now."

His top lip curling up in a sneer, Patrick turned away from Jess with obvious reluctance and the group began to move again.

Feeling a smaller hand grip hers suddenly, Jess glanced over her shoulder at Mary as they were ushered forward by the third man standing behind them.

"Thank you." Mary's smile was tremulous at best. "Do you think they will hurt us, Jessica?"

"I won't let them," Jess swore, squeezing Mary's hand and allowing herself to forget she was in the presence of royalty; in that moment, Mary was no more than a scared little girl. "I promise. I won't let any of them hurt you."

Mary's smile grew a little but the fear on her pale face didn't diminish. Moving to walk beside her, Jess wrapped an arm around the girl's trembling shoulders and ushered her forward between their captors.

* * *

 

To say it had been an educational experience to spend time with the knights of old England would have been an understatement. Becker did his best to blend in and answered most of the questions he was asked with a question of his own, a tactic that had served him well previously and seemed to work in medieval England… until they started asking questions about Jess.

"You do not believe your betrothed would have left willingly?"

Remembering the fear on Jess's face, the dazed look in her eye, Becker clenched his fists and shook his head. "No. Not at all. Do you know how the man was able to get access to the princess?"

"We believe he was aided by a man inside the castle." A man who wouldn't be able to aid anyone anymore if the dark expression Sir Lawrence, the knight, wore was to be believed. Changing the subject, Lawrence inclined his head towards the picture Becker clutched in one hand, keeping it readily available in case they passed someone else who might have seen Jess. "Your betrothed is certainly very beautiful."

He felt the tips of his ears burn and lowered his gaze, grateful they'd taken a break from horse riding so that he wouldn't embarrass himself by squirming uncomfortably in the saddle. "She is," he managed, his voice quiet.

"You must be eager to be wed," Sir Lawrence continued, either oblivious to or not caring about Becker's embarrassment. As the knight smirked at him knowingly, Becker decided it was more likely the latter.

"We have to find her first," Becker said evasively, running his finger subconsciously over the sketch in his hand.

Sir Lawrence clasped him on the shoulder in a sign of solidarity. "We will, my friend. We will find the princess and your betrothed. And then we will celebrate."

Becker forced a smile and a nod, knowing that when he found Jess, his priority wouldn't be to celebrate with those who'd helped him but rather to use the technology he had stashed in his bag to find a way for both of them to go home.

The sound of hurried footsteps preceded the arrival of a red faced boy of no more than twelve or thirteen, his brown eyes wide as he came to a panting stop in front of the knights and their horses.

"There has been a sighting, Sirs! Of the man you described! He is travelling with two men and two women! Hurry, hurry! Come and I will take you!"

The boy turned on his heel and began to run back in the direction from which he'd come. The knights scrambled to their feet and remounted their horses, with the Earl in lead and Becker not far behind.

* * *

 

Mary cried out as she stumbled, tripping over a rock in the path. If not for Jess's grip on her arm, the barefooted princess would have fallen face flat onto the muddy path.

"Come on," Patrick glared over his shoulder at them as the group were slowed once again. "For a princess, you are severely lacking in grace, Your Highness."

Even as Mary glared at him indignantly, her cheeks burned scarlet.

"If you'd thought to provide either of us with shoes, we would be able to walk a lot faster," Jess retorted, matching Patrick's glare with one of her own before the young girl could defend herself. She wrapped a comforting arm around Mary's shoulder and drew the girl closer to her. "We're doing our best."

"Your best isn't good enough," Patrick snapped impatiently.

The man who'd gone on ahead of them chose that moment to return, his expression alarmed and his eyes full of panic. "The knights are out searching!" He announced in between deep gulps for air. "We will never made it to the dock on time!"

"The dock…?" Mary repeated with wide eyes. "Where are you planning to take us? I demand to know! I will not walk a single step further until you tell me!"

Patrick took a menacing step towards her, lifting his hand as if to strike her. Without hesitation, Jess swiftly intercepted the blow meant for the princess.

"Jessica!" Mary cried out as the force of Patrick's hand against her face knocked Jess off balance and sent her tumbling to the ground.

"Carry the princess," Patrick ordered, not caring which of his companions followed his order. He reached down and grabbed Jess's wrist in a bruising grip, using it to yank her to her feet. "You walk with me," he told her quietly, eyes flashing in warning when she opened her mouth to protest. "Quickly."

As one of the men scooped up the protesting princess, Jess found herself being half-dragged, half-marched through the woodland, wincing as the branches and stones on the ground bit into her feet. The trees went by at a dizzying rate as she tried to focus more on keeping herself upright than on the throbbing ache in her cheek.

She heard Mary shout and scream behind her and wished she could turn around to reassure the girl it would be okay but knew it wouldn't be wise to do so; Patrick was already dangerously riled and she didn't want to risk provoking him further. He was the man, she reminded herself, who'd killed without hesitation or remorse more than once – and who'd tried to kill both Becker and herself with a bomb that could have caused injuries to hundreds of innocent people in the immediate area.

'Just stay calm,' she told herself firmly, biting down on her bottom lip to keep from crying out as she stubbed her toe on a large stone in the middle of the path. She could taste the metallic tang of blood in her mouth and wasn't sure if she'd bitten down too hard or if her lip had been split as a result of Patrick's spectacular back-hander. 'Stay calm, and stay focused. You never known when you'll be able to…'

She didn't get a chance to finish the thought as she was pulled to an abrupt halt, the bushes in front of them parting under the force of over half a dozen horses, ridden by whom she assumed were the knights Patrick's collaborator had warned him about.

Knights… and _Becker…?_

* * *

 

The first person he saw was Jess. Then he noticed Patrick behind her, holding her against him like a shield, and felt a sickening sense of déjà vu as the other man fumbled for a second with something in his pocket moments before brandishing a knife and lifting it to her throat.

Not again.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't your very own knight in shining armour," Patrick smirked, his lips far too close to Jess's ear for Becker's liking. "Isn't that sweet? He came for you, Jessica. You should be honoured."

"Let her go." Dismounting from his horse, Becker was only partly aware of the knights around him doing the same. He heard the Earl begin negotiations with the man holding the young girl Becker assumed was the princess but couldn't tear his gaze away from Jess and Patrick to see how it was going. "Now."

"Or what?" Patrick smirked. "You can't shoot me, can you?"

Not without exposing himself and Jess to a world of trouble, no. Becker ground his teeth and reached for the only weapon he had at his disposal – the sword Sarah had insisted be procured from somewhere. "Let. Her. Go."

"Becker..." He saw Jess's eyes widen as he adjusted his grip on the sword, thankful for the fencing lessons his parents had agreed to let him take when he was younger.

"Oh, this is brilliant." Patrick cackled, circling Becker with Jess clasped against him defensively. "You think you stand a chance, Becker? You think you can be her hero and save her before I carve her a new smile? Be my guest. She'll be dead before you get within an inch of me."

Unwilling to take the risk, Becker only circled Patrick and Jess in response, his eyes narrowed as he focused intently, waiting for the right moment.

"Release her, sir." The command came from somewhere behind him, the voice young and feminine. Without looking, Becker guessed the princess had been released and was standing safely surrounded half a dozen knights who would die to defend her. "Release her, and I will grant you leniency."

Patrick barked a humourless laugh. "Leniency meaning you'll have them blind-fold me before they cut my head off? Gee, thanks, Your Highness, but I think I'll pass."

"I am commanding you, sir, release the lady now." Sounding older than Becker knew her to be, Mary held her head up high, her grey eyes flashing as Becker glanced over his shoulder to gauge where she and the knights were standing.

"I'd do as she says," Becker added quietly, returning his attention to Patrick as he saw the knights move out to circle the kidnapper and his hostage. "This won't end well for you if you don't."

"It won't end well for me if I do," Patrick retorted. He adjusted his grip on Jess, the blade of the knife grazing her throat as a muffled sound escaped her. "Let us leave and I promise you'll never see me again, Princess. You never need fear me again."

"I do not fear you now," the Princess replied confidently. "And I cannot permit you to go anywhere with my friend."

Patrick shifted Jess again, panic beginning to dance in his eyes as he glanced around and noticed he was surrounded. He tightened the arm he had around her and Becker saw Jess's hands move to try and pry it away, her face pale as she struggled to breathe in the vice-like grip her captor had her in. As Patrick looked around again, Becker saw his chance and took it, hoping it wouldn't be one he would later regret.

* * *

 

"Shit! You bastard! You cut me!"

Having watched Becker move out of the corner of her eye, Jess was prepared when the Captain darted forward, the sword in his hand glinting as he used it against Patrick. She took full advantage of Patrick's distraction as the blade cut easily through the material of his shirt and sliced the skin beneath it, blood instantly welling up to soak through the material as he loosened his hold on her.

Slipping out from his grasp, Jess darted towards Becker and found herself tucked against his side in an instant, the arm not holding the sword out warningly in Patrick's direction wrapping her waist and drawing her close.

"Lower your weapon." The demand came from one of the knights around them, who began to move closer as Patrick clutched at his wounded arm.

Becker backed away, giving Jess no option but to move with him, and waited until the knights had moved in to circle Patrick before letting his sword arm drop so he could turn to face her. For several moments, he stared at her intently, his eyes darker than she could remember seeing. As Jess struggled to find the right words, wanting to ask him what he was doing there and how he'd found her, he seemingly found what he was looking for in her eyes and lifted his hand from her waist to cup her face as he closed the gap between them and kissed her.

He kissed her.

It took a few seconds for her to catch up but as soon as she did, Jess kissed him back wholeheartedly, forgetting entirely about their audience. She lifted her arms, one hand clutching at the material of his shirt while the other moved to rest at the back of his neck. She heard a metallic thud and realised a little belatedly that the sound was caused by Becker dropping his sword as his other arm encircled her waist, pressing her closer to him.

They parted only when someone cleared their throat – and Mary giggled – but still didn't let each other go. Becker let his forehead rest against hers as he caught his breath, his hands dropping to rest on her hips as Jess let her own lay against his chest.

"You came for me," was all Jess could say, her voice catching as Becker pulled back just enough to look at her.

"I'll always come for you." His eyes locked with hers, serious and soft.

"But it's against the rules - your rules!" The more she thought about it, the more her heart began to race. She knew they'd been getting closer in recent weeks but for him to willingly go through an anomaly after her, when he'd all but forbidden everyone else on the field teams to do such a thing…

"Some rules are worth breaking," Becker answered quietly. "Some people are worth breaking them for." Before she could respond, his gaze dropped to her throat. His eyes widened and then narrowed as he gently crooked a finger under her chin, using it to tilt her head back. "You're bleeding, and you're hurt."

It took her a second to figure out why, remembering the sting Patrick's blade left in its wake as he'd held against her skin as well as the back-hander she'd taken when she'd stepped between him and Mary as though both incidents had happened to someone else. "It's just a little cut," she protested even as he inspected it closely. "Really, it's nothing."

"Here." The voice caught them both by surprise as it was so close. Putting a little more distance between them, they both turned to stare at Mary – Princess Mary, Jess corrected herself, feeling a little light-headed as she allowed herself to believe she was in the presence of royalty. "You may use this to stem the bleeding. I will have the court physician attend to you once we have returned to the palace."

"Oh, we're not…" Jess began to protest even as Becker took the cloth handkerchief Mary held out for him, though where she'd procured it from, Jess wasn't sure. "We won't be going back to the… the palace. Thank you, though, Your Highness."

"I insist." The Princess squared her shoulders. "I will make it an order if I must, Jessica."

Trying to catch Becker's gaze, Jess sighed when the man seemed more intent on seeing to her injury than helping her refuse royalty. "We should really go straight home…"

"We can't." Finally looking up, his hand tightening around the blood stained handkerchief, Becker met Jess's curious gaze. "We have no home to go back to, Jessica."

Her mouth opened to ask what he meant, closing again as realisation that the anomaly must have closed, trapping them there, dawned on her. "Oh."

"Then you must ride back with us. I will see to it that you and your betrothed are amply compensated for any loss you have suffered at this tyrant's hands."

Too stunned by Mary's words to argue, Jess watched as the Princess was led away by one of the armoured men around them. She allowed Becker to take her arm and lead her over to the horses, glancing at him only to see a slight redness in his cheeks.

"Just go with it," he urged her quietly. "I'll explain later."

Jess gave him a small nod to show she understood, and let him help her up onto the horse. Her breath caught when he swung into the saddle behind her, his chest pressed against her back as he reached around her to take hold of the reins.

With nothing else to do but sit back and enjoy the ride, Jess forced herself to do just that.

* * *

 

For all she'd been looking forward to finally being home, it felt odd to be back.

Not quite wrong, just… odd.

Everyone was warm and welcoming, of course, but they were also very distracted. It seemed the absence of their Captain and Field Co-ordinator had left a gaping hole in the fabric of the ARC and the atmosphere had only grown worse when the anomaly they'd disappeared through had closed.

She'd spent the first day in non-stop meetings with Lester and Matt, the new team leader. Sometimes Danny had been allowed to sit with her, other times she'd been forced to endure them on her own. She'd had to explain, over and over, what she remembered of that fateful final rescue attempt, the one that had almost cost her her life.

As if the nightmares weren't enough without having to relive it, but Sarah kept that thought to herself.

She could remember it all vividly, though. The smell of blood as the soldier who'd been charged with protecting her was killed, torn apart in front of her. The pain as the predator had clawed her chest, the scars still there even though the wounds had long since closed. The sound of her own screams, and the screams of the others, as they'd all been ambushed.

She'd crawled away from the massacre, hidden herself in the ruins of a car. Curled up into herself and done her best not to cry out loud as the screams and gunfire stopped and silence fell once again.

It must only have been an hour, maybe two, before she'd heard hurried footsteps. It had felt like an eternity.

When she heard a man swear, she'd thought it was Becker. She'd called out for him as loudly as she dared and had thought she was hallucinating when the face that appeared before her was not the soldier she'd been expecting but the team leader she'd gone on the mission in hopes of finding. She even vaguely remembered asking if she was dead, just before she'd lost consciousness.

She'd woken up on the other side of the anomaly – at some point in the past, though not the fifteenth century and thankfully not an era with dinosaurs. That had come later. Danny had taken care of her, tending to her injuries as best as he could. He'd saved her life but had been unable to stop the scarring, something she knew he blamed himself for every time he saw the ragged marks marring the formerly smooth skin of her chest. She'd tried to reassure him – several times – that she was just happy to be alive but the reminder of how close she'd come to dying was an unwelcome one for them both.

As far as Sarah was aware, only hours had passed since she'd walked through the anomaly into the hellish future that awaited them. She'd been stunned when Danny had gently explained that almost two years had passed – and that the others believed her to be dead. He'd gone on to tell her about his own return to the present, how he'd found his long-lost brother and willingly followed him through an anomaly back to the past.

He'd been chasing Patrick for months – three as far as he could work out – but his little brother continued to evade him, leading him on a wild goose chase from past to future to past again.

It was only once he'd found her that Danny had begun to think he couldn't put his life on hold forever, couldn't chase after Patrick indefinitely from place to place. They'd spent two months through that anomaly, and then had followed Patrick to fifteenth century England, which had been an experience but not one she'd want to repeat in a hurry.

When the anomaly had opened again and they'd followed Patrick's trail home to the present time, Sarah had wanted to weep. As it was, she'd stood with Danny, his arm clasped protectively around her shoulders, as he'd tried to reason with his brother and urged him to release the woman he was holding captive.

But Patrick had refused to do so, and the happy reunion Sarah had secretly dreamt about went up in smoke.

Not that she could blame Becker for leaving; it was clear the soldier was crazy about the girl. Danny had even already told her as much, updating her on the few facts he'd been able to glean during his brief time in the present before he'd left it in search of his brother: Connor and Abby were home and a couple, Lester was still in charge at the ARC and Becker, while alive, was a darker version of himself and only seemed to become the man they both remembered when the Field Co-ordinator was around.

Given that she'd seen the change begin to happen after each failed rescue attempt, Sarah hadn't been surprised. Disheartened and sad, but not surprised. And as she'd watched the anguished expression on Becker's face fade to a look of determination as Patrick stumbled through the anomaly with his hostage in his arms, she'd known it would take a small miracle to get the soldier to stay behind.

Briefings over with – though she suspected the respite was only temporary – Sarah had been allowed access to both a guest room at the ARC and a small lab she'd been told she could use. She smiled slightly, remembering the momentarily stunned expression on Lester's face when Danny had told him quietly but firmly that the second room they'd prepared for him was unnecessary, but the smile faded as she remembered that the tiny room they'd been given was the only home either of them now had.

Both of their flats were gone, Danny's things were in storage and her belongings were wherever her parents had put them. Her parents, who still believed she was dead.

Lester was working on it, she told herself firmly. And the Minister's office. They were looking to come up with some sort of solution, a way she could be reunited with her family. It would just take time to sort it all out and so she had to be patient.

And wait.

Waiting was never something Sarah had been good at, though, which was how she'd come to be in the lab she'd been assigned, sitting in front of a computer screen staring at a search engine homepage.

Where was she supposed to begin in finding out what she'd missed?

Abby and Connor had both promised to spend time with her later on but had been called away to deal with an anomaly alert. They'd both hurried after the new team leader and the dark haired woman, Emily, who'd been with them but not before Sarah had seen the flash of optimism in their eyes and knew they were hoping the anomaly they were going to would lead them to Becker and Jess.

Sarah hoped it would, but had heard nothing else since they'd left.

Eyeing the computer screen, she bit her lip as she drew the keyboard towards her. An idea began to form in her mind, a way she might possibly be able to help.

* * *

 

Quite how she'd come to be sitting beside a fire discussing wedding plans with the Queen of England and her princess daughter, Jess couldn't be entirely sure. She kept sneaking what she hoped were surreptitious glances at the door, hoping to see Becker returning through it any second but wasn't sure she was successful if the knowing smirk curling Queen Elizabeth's mouth was any indication.

Queen. Elizabeth.

Elizabeth of York.

Bloody hell.

Though Jess couldn't remember much about the time from her history lessons at school, she did know that the woman sitting demurely in the chair opposite her own was the wife of King Henry VII – and the mother of King Henry VIII.

And that would have been enough to blow her mind, if it hadn't already been blown by the kiss Becker had bestowed on her during their reunion.

That she was still reeling from, along with the revelation that the handsome Captain she'd possibly been on the brink of being able to call her boyfriend had for some reason declared himself her betrothed... which was why she was in the middle of a very marriage-orientated conversation with two women who had earned their place history.

"I am envious of you, Jessica," Mary said with a girlish sigh of longing, resting her chin in her hand as she stared at the flickering flames in the fireplace. "To be able to marry for love is rare."

Wracking her brain, Jess tried to remember what fate had befallen the young girl beside her but was frustrated when the facts wouldn't come to mind. "Oh, I..."

"You know not what awaits you, my love," Queen Elizabeth interrupted, earning a thankful look from Jess. "You may learn to love your betrothed."

"Mine is a marriage of duty, Mother." Mary wrinkled her nose and gave her mother a sceptical look. "Love will play no part in our union."

Queen Elizabeth leaned across to pat her daughter's hand sympathetically. "I, too, married for love of country, Mary, and not for love of man. However," she added, when her daughter turned away from the fire to look at her, "I do very much love your father and could not want for more in a husband nor in a lover."

As Mary blushed at her mother's words, Jess looked at the Queen with a smile on her face. She'd always been a romantic at heart, and inside she was sighing dreaming at the thought an arranged marriage had turned out well for the woman sitting opposite her. Her smile faded a little as she glanced at the young girl beside her and she found herself wishing she could know with certainty that the young princess would be as fortunate as her mother.

"Though you are fortunate, Jessica, that you are able to choose to marry a man you love rather than a man you will hope to one day fall in love with." Queen Elizabeth smiled warmly. "You must be eager to be wed, and to return home with your husband?"

Before Jess could speak, Mary answered for her. "They have no home to return to, Mother," the Princess piped up. "I heard her betrothed say so myself."

"Oh?" Elizabeth's gaze sharpened and she looked at Jess in askance. "May I enquire as to why...?"

"I believe I can answer that, my love." The response came from the door and Jess scrambled to her feet, wincing a little at the pain in her soles where the stones and twigs she'd walked over had left their mark, as the King entered the room with Becker and another man – one of the knights from earlier – trailing behind him. "The tyrant who kidnapped our daughter burnt down their home."

Elizabeth gasped, her eyes growing wide. "You have my deepest sympathies."

"Can they stay here?" Mary got to her feet when her mother stood to take a stunned Jess's hand in sympathy. "Jessica could be one of your Ladies, or one of mine..."

"I have already requested that Sir Hilary remain with us and become one of my knights." The King grinned at his wife's approving smile. "The Lady Jessica is welcome to serve either as your Maid of Honour, Mary, or as one of your Ladies, my Queen."

At King Henry's declaration, Jess stared at Becker, struggling to keep the alarm from showing on her face. She desperately wanted to speak to him in private but, as he was refusing to look at her, she had no way of getting his attention. It took only a few moments before she discovered the reason he was avoiding eye contact.

"They will be wed, of course, at the earliest opportunity. It would be preferable for their union to be made official before God prior to their introduction to court."

As Elizabeth agreed instantly and Mary clapped her hands together in glee, Jess tried futilely to catch her husband-to-be's gaze.

* * *

 

He tried to explain it to her, in one of the scarce moments they were allowed to snatch together. Still chaperoned, of course, as it would be inappropriate for anything else, but outside of earshot of the smiling woman who'd been ordered by the Queen to help Jess adjust to her new role.

King Henry had explained that court wasn't the safest place for an unmarried woman; there were some – though not as many as there once had been in his predecessor's time – who would seize the opportunity at having such a young and beautiful unattached woman around to 'entertain' them. While the King had assured Becker he would do his upmost to ensure Jess was protected, he had advised that if it was his intention to marry her, it would be best to do it sooner rather than later.

Becker had done his best to explain to Jess that his reasons for not objecting to the wedding plans being made for them were for her own safety but he'd been unable to meet her gaze throughout the conversation. He hadn't wanted her to know that there was a part of him that was kind of pleased they were going to be married, a part that relished the thought of having their would-be-could-be relationship made official so no one could try and take his place in her affections.

It was stupid, he told himself, to feel that way. Idiotic to have doubts as to her feelings for him. He'd known for a long time that Jess harboured feelings for him – her crush on him in the early days had been one of the worst kept secrets at the ARC, much to her embarrassment he knew. He'd hoped at first that the crush would abate, then had worried that it would when he realised it wasn't quite as one-sided as he'd tried to make himself believe. The longer they spent working together, though, and the more he got to know the woman beneath the Field Co-ordinator's mask, the deeper his feelings for her grew and now…

… Now she was going to be his wife.

For a time, at least.

When they made it home – and he insisted on it being 'when', even in his thoughts, and not 'if' – he'd gladly step aside and let her and Lester take the necessary steps to absolve their marriage if that was what she wanted. Reluctantly, yes, but he'd hide that from her and go along with whatever she wished.

In the meantime, she was going to be his wife and he her husband. They were going to have to pretend to be happily married, at least while they were still the new members of the household with the attention of the Royal family firmly affixed on them. That meant being affectionate with one another, sharing the bed chambers they'd been so graciously offered… and that thought made his cheeks flush and his heart race, memories of the kiss he'd been unable to resist giving her flooding through his mind.

A kiss she'd wholeheartedly returned, he reminded himself, though telling himself that wasn't helping him keep the urge to do it again at bay.

"How do you know the anomaly's closed?" Jess asked quietly, glancing over his shoulder to where the old woman assigned as their chaperone waited with a knowing expression on her face. "Shouldn't we go to check…?"

"Danny gave me the device he was using. It's closed, Jess." Guilt gnawed at him at the sorrowful expression that momentarily arranged her features before she could hide it. "I'm sorry."

Jess blinked at him, surprised. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I should have found you sooner."

"You shouldn't have come for me at all." She bit her lip and hesitantly lifted a hand, letting it rest on his arm in a gesture meant to comfort. "If anyone should be sorry, it's me. I…"

"Jessica." Covering her hand with his, he entangled their fingers. "Leaving you here wasn't an option. It would never be an option."

For a long moment, they just stared at one another. One, maybe both of them, started to lean in, as if drawn closer by an invisible force…

… An invisible force shattered by the clearing of someone's throat as the woman standing in the doorway all but smirked at them.

Blushing, Jess broke eye contact but made no attempt at moving away. "What about Patrick? Do you know what they're going to do with him…?"

He did, and it wasn't pleasant. If there was a way he could have spared her the details, Becker would. "He's to be executed at first light tomorrow. He kidnapped a member of the royal family, Jess," he reminded her when she looked at him, obviously horrified. "He apparently had plans to sell her to some foreign enemy of her father…"

… And he'd had plans to sell Jess, too, Becker remembered, his jaw clenching. Not to a permanent buyer, Lawrence had explained grimly, but as a passing fancy to whoever would be willing to pay the price he demanded.

Either she suspected what her own fate would have been or didn't want to know about it, as Jess refrained from asking. She pursed her lips and nodded grimly, accepting Patrick's fate even though Becker knew she'd spare a moment to mourn the man's passing, even if only out of respect for his brother.

Refusing to let himself think about Danny and his reaction to his brother's death, Becker kept his attention well and truly focused on the woman in front of him.

"I'm sorry. About the whole marriage thing. I don't want you to be uncomfortable by it but…"

"I'm not." Her answer was quick, and accompanied immediately by another deep blush as she tried to back-track. "I mean, it's not ideal, I suppose, but if it's the only way we can stay together and be safe, then so be it. We can deal with everything else that comes with it later. When we're home."

"Yeah." Feeling a little awkward, Becker was almost relieved when the other woman in the room started to walk towards them. "I think our time's up."

"Come along now," the woman – Mistress Margaret, as they'd later come to know her, gave them an indulgent smile. "There'll be time for sweet nothings when you're wed. In the meantime, we have duties to be attending to."

Willing his cheeks not to go as pink as Jess's, Becker untangled their fingers and stood back from her, letting her hand fall from his arm. He gave Jess a reassuring smile and Margaret a small nod of acknowledgement before his betrothed was escorted from the room.

* * *

 

Although she would admit to having imagined her wedding day on more than one occasion, Jess could honestly say that the day she got was dramatically different from any of the ones she'd imagined. In fact, there was only one thing reality had in common with the most recent daydreams she'd allowed herself to have and that was the man who waited for her in front of the priest who was going to marry them.

Becker swallowed as she approached, his gaze sweeping over her as she drew nearer. Jess blushed under his scrutiny, feeling somewhat exposed in the heavy gown she'd been given to wear by Queen Elizabeth as a thank you for helping protect Princess Mary.

Though the skirt, made of heavy velvet and dark burgundy in colour, was certainly longer and fuller than what either herself or Becker was used to, the brocade bodice with its intricate gold embroidery was a little more revealing than her usual modern day tops and dresses. The corset had been laced tightly over the simple slip she'd been given as an undergarment and gave her a cleavage she'd never dreamed she'd be blessed with.

The curve-enhancing bodice flowed into long bell sleeves with matching embroidery and Jess fought the urge to fidget with them as she came to a stop in front of her husband-to-be, who stood resplendent in a traditional uniform for one of the King's men, complete with sword at his side. He looked incredibly handsome, but her nerves wouldn't allow her to enjoy the sight.

The actual ceremony itself was a bit of a blur but whether that was because she was distracted by the rapid pounding of her heart or by the sight of the man whose hand wrapped around hers, Jess wasn't entirely sure.

She spoke when she was urged to do so, uttering the vows that would make her Becker's wife in a quiet but serious voice, finding that she meant every word. Jess held Becker's gaze, feeling her cheeks heat but somehow unable to look away, even when it was his turn to make his promises to her.

Her heart fluttered in her chest when he slid the ring that had been procured from somewhere for the ceremony over her knuckle but it wasn't because of the unfamiliar weight of the metal on her finger. No, it was the expression on his face when he did it, the look in his dark eyes as they remained locked with her own.

Dimly, she was aware of the priest announcing them husband and wife, and heard the low, congratulatory murmurings of the few witnesses to the ceremony.

It was only later, after sitting through a meal that felt like it passed both too fast and too slowly, that Jess allowed herself to think about what would happen next.

As a married couple, they would finally be permitted to be alone in the same room. It would be expected of them, in fact. Their marriage bed awaited them in the chambers that the Royal Family had so graciously supplied them with and it was the thought of that that made her mouth go dry.

She didn't expect anything to happen, of course. Not really. They would have to keep up the pretence that they were a happily in love couple in front of their peers but in private, she didn't expect the charade to continue. No matter how many times she'd replayed that kiss, over and over, in her head.

No matter how disappointed she would never admit to being at the thought of it never happening again.

All too soon, Jess found herself being led towards their room. Becker would follow, she was told by Mistress Margaret, once she'd had time to 'prepare' herself. Blushing deeply at the insinuation that she was a virgin bride, Jess could only force a smile and duck her head in order to avoid the other woman's gaze.

Declining the help of Margaret and the other giggling girls to help her undress, Jess could do little but sit on the edge of the high bed that was the main feature of the room and watch as her attendants busied themselves with lighting the fire and candles, creating an intimate atmosphere in the otherwise darkened room. She had no choice but to sit through Margaret's ministrations as the older woman carefully unpinned her hair from its elaborate style, letting it fall in loose curls around her shoulders.

With a lot of whispering and knowing looks, the small team of women left, the thick wooden door closing heavily behind them. Lowering her gaze to her hands, which she clasped tightly in her lap, Jess found herself holding her breath as the door hinges creaked to signal it being opened once again to admit her husband.

_No._

Becker.

She couldn't let herself think of him like that. Couldn't get caught up in fantasy or illusion, no matter how tempting it was to do so.

He was Becker. _Just_ Becker. Colleague. Friend. _Potential_ boyfriend.

And now... husband.

_Bugger._

Her heart began to race as she heard the door close with a soft snick that seemed to echo throughout the room. His footsteps, though soft, sounded impossibly loud the closer he got.

She stared down at her hands, at the ring that graced her finger, and willed her nerves not to betray her. She couldn't make a fool of herself in front of him, not when he was all she had.

Not when he meant so much

"Jess. Jessica. Look at me."

She thought his voice sounded different but wasn't sure if it was just because of the blood rushing through her ears. It sounded low, rough. Strained. Steeling herself with a deep breath, Jess looked up at him and immediately lost the breath she'd just taken.

His expression was unlike any she'd seen on his face before, Becker moved towards her slowly, his gaze intent on her face as if watching for a sign that she didn't want him too. He lifted a hand to her cheek, evidently finding what he was looking for, his fingertips trailing gently over her skin as it slid to the back of her neck, tangling in her hair as his lips descended on hers.

* * *

 

It was as if some sort of spell had descended over them, one Becker was loathe to break. He hadn't intended on kissing her as he made their way to the room though the thought had crossed his mind on many occasions throughout the day, he'd told himself that the most he could hope for was to be able to lie next to her as they slept.

And then he'd seen her. Sitting on the very edge of a very big bed, head bowed and hands clasped, hair tumbling over her shoulders. The flickering flames of the burning fire and lit candles caused her skin to glow and brought out the natural copper highlights in her auburn hair. Still dressed in what he knew he'd always think of as her wedding dress, she looked every part the blushing bride and he'd felt a sense of longing, of desire, so intense that his knees grew weak.

She was beautiful; he'd thought that almost as long as he'd known her. At first, she'd been pretty – cute, quirky – but the more he got to know her, the more he found himself believing that those words didn't do her justice. She was beautiful; it was a simple and as complicated as that.

He pulled away just far enough to be able to tell her, murmuring the sentiment against her parted lips, earning himself a shy smile even as her hands tightened in his hair to draw his mouth back to hers.

The urge to press himself closer, to pin her against the feather-stuffed mattress of the bed, was one he was only able to resist when a small voice at the back of his head told him that doing so would make it rather difficult to divest her of the dress – gorgeous though it was – that prevented him from seeing the skin he'd only dreamt about.

"Turn around," he murmured, hoping that the sound of his voice wouldn't cause the moment to shatter. Though she seemed a little confused by the request, Jess adhered to it without hesitation. He heard her breath catch as he moved her hair to the side and, unable to resist, leaned in to brush his lips against the sensitive skin of her nape.

His hands trembled despite his best efforts as he trailed his fingers over the lacing of the bodice. His brow furrowed as he tried to concentrate on unlacing the dress instead of on the nerves and anticipating building within him.

Eagerness made him fumble, once, twice. But eventually the laces were loosed enough for him to push the material of the dress away, his fingers trailing lightly over the bare skin of her arms in a gentle caress.

Once the dress had fallen to pool at her feet, Jess turned to face him slowly, clad only in the thin white slip she was left standing in. It was loose but low cut, hinting at the curves he longed to see and trace with his hands and still somehow managed to be more alluring than any of the skimpy negligees he'd seen on models in magazines and on TV.

Probably, he admitted to himself as his gaze trailed lazily back up to her face, due to the woman wearing it. Heck, he was pretty sure Jess could wear nothing but a burlap sack and still be the most attractive woman he'd ever seen.

He was a little surprised that she wasn't blushing, but the expression on her face made him swallow reflexively. There was no disguising the emotion she felt, no hiding the naked longing or open desire or, and yes he would admit it, the love burning in her eyes that he hoped she could see reflected back at her in his.

His hands were in her hair in an instant, his mouth fused to hers before he even realised he'd moved. He heard a soft noise escape her, part moan and part gasp, as her hands slid under his shirt and her nimble fingers began to eagerly map the hard planes of his chest and abdomen before moving to his back.

Becker shuddered as her nails dug into the flesh of his shoulders, her chest pressed against his. He lowered her to the bed slowly, covering her completely, the contact much needed but still nowhere near enough to satisfy either of them.

With Jess's help, he rid himself of the clothes he was wearing and tugged the slip off over her head, baring themselves entirely to the other's hungry gaze. He tangled his hands in her hair again as he lay against her, feeling the softness of her curves fit against the hardness of his as though they'd been made for each other.

Made for this moment.

The romantic ideal would have made him blush if he hadn't been almost immediately distracted from it by the feel of her shifting restlessly beneath him. She hooked a leg over his calf and used it as leverage to arch up from the bed, pushing against him. Groaning into her mouth, he tore his lips away and kissed a route from her lips, along her jaw and down the slender line of her throat. He felt her hand tighten in his hair, her head falling back against the pillows as he continued lower, taking the peak of one breast into his mouth. He suckled it as she gasped in wordless pleasure, lifted a hand to caress its mate. He both heard and felt her low moan, and grinned against her heated skin in satisfaction when her name was torn from her throat in a breathless cry.

As much as he wanted to explore her thoroughly and commit every inch, ever response he could draw from her, to memory, Becker knew he wasn't going to last long enough to take their first time too slowly. His body responded to every sound she made, every sensation created as she writhed underneath him. Letting his hand drift lower still, he stroked her until she was panting and murmuring pleas before kissing his way back to her mouth, positioning himself between her thighs as she shifted her legs to accommodate him.

Drawing back far enough to see her face, he smiled as her eyelids fluttered open. Dark and dazed, pupils blown, Jess gazed at him tenderly as a soft smile curled the corners of her swollen lips. She lifted a hand to his face, fingers gentle against his skin, and he turned a head to press a kiss to her palm.

Slowly, careful to hold her gaze the entire time, Becker pushed into her, their groans intermingling as their bodies were finally joined.

Stilling for a moment, he let his forehead rest against hers, sharing a breath as he struggled to keep himself in check. Only when she tightened her legs around him, drawing him in deeper and shifted her hips in silent encouragement did he start to move.

They fell into an easy rhythm, one that quickened as they lost themselves willingly into the moment. He slid a hand between their bodies as he felt the familiar signs of release, stroking her in time with his thrusts, determined to see her fall first.

The feel of her body tightening around his was enough to send him careening over the edge after her, her name a choked cry, muffled against her shoulder as his hips stuttered helplessly against hers.

When he regained his senses, the first thing he became aware of was Jess's hands running over his back soothingly, her body soft and pliant beneath his own.

Rolling off her, Becker was quick to draw her back against him, into the circle of his arms. He was relieved when she curled against him happily instead of pushing him away, one of her legs slipping between his own as her head came to rest on his chest above his heart.

There was still a conversation to be had, and words that needed to be said, but he told himself there'd be time for those things in the morning and contentedly followed his wife into a deep, sated slumber.

* * *

 

Her body ached in the best possible way. And she was warm, so nicely warm, that Jess signed as she languished in those moments between sleep and full consciousness, not wanting to leave the happy, relaxed place she was in.

Their wedding night had been a surprising though no less pleasant experience and she felt her lips curve into a smile she was powerless to stop as she cuddled closer into her husband's embrace, her cheeks heating with the memories of both their first time as man and wife and the second time, in the early hours of the morning, when she'd taken the initiative and seized her chance to explore the body she'd so often admired and dreamt about.

The whole night had been incredible, maybe she'd even call it magical if she was feeling sentimental, but as she lay against him, listening to his heart and his steady breathing, the cold doubts often associated with the morning after began to creep in.

What if he'd just got caught up in the moment? What if he'd drank more at their wedding feast than she'd realised?

What if he regretted it when he woke up and pushed her away, reverting to what she knew as 'normal Becker form' when it came to anything that demanded an emotional response?

Her body began to tense; she couldn't help it. She bit down on her lip and contemplated how she could disentangle herself without waking him. She needed to get away, to put some distance between them. She needed to compose herself, prepare for the inevitable let down, force an accepting smile on her face...

His arms tightened around her and a soft 'hmm' escaped him. Jess froze, knowing he was about to wake up. She kept perfect still as he continued to stir, squeezing her eyes shut and wondered if she could convince him she was still asleep.

He ran his hand along the curve of her spine and let it come to a stop as his fingers curled around her hip, squeezing gently as he shifted beneath her so he could angle his head to see her. Jess felt his gaze on her face and had to remind herself to keep breathing.

"I know you're awake." Becker sounded amused but Jess couldn't allow herself to relax, not even when he manoeuvred them so they were sharing a pillow. "Jessica."

She felt him move again but resisted the urge to open her eyes to see what he was doing. The next thing she was aware of was the sensation of his lips brushing against her sweetly. When he tried to deepen the kiss, Jess willingly obliged, morning breath be damned as she let her lips be parted by his. Distracted by the kiss, she let him roll them over until she was caught underneath him, and then pulled away to prop himself up on an elbow. It was then Jess forced herself to open her eyes, bracing herself for the rejection and the 'it's not you, it's the situation' speech she was sure was coming...

... and was surprised when a slow, lazy grin curled the corners of his mouth instead and he used his free hand to brush the tangled strands of hair back from her face.

"As much as I'd love to spend all day here with you, I'm supposed to meet Lawrence and the others in the courtyard this morning."

It took her stunned brain a moment to remember where they were and what events had led to them lying in bed together – and who 'Lawrence and the others' were. Her eyes widened and a small smile played on her lips as she couldn't help but blurt out the first thought that sprung to her mind as realisation dawned.

"You have knight training!" She knew she sounded gleeful but it couldn't be helped. "Oh, my god, Becker. You're going to be a real knight in shining armour!"

A fit of giggles overcame her at the expression on his face, not helped when he decided to tickle her in retaliation for her teasing. As his fingers danced up over her ribs, the mood shifted abruptly from playful to tense and Becker stilled above her, gazing down with an unreadable expression on his face.

Aware that her hair was no doubt a mess, her cheeks flushed and her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath, Jess's laughter died on her lips. She stared up at her, him earlier doubts resurfacing and growing stronger the longer he stayed silent.

"Um. I should..." Whatever excuse she'd been about to give him faded from her mind as his mouth descended over hers again.

While their first kiss of the morning had been sweet and gentle, their second was deep and urgent and demanding. There was no hesitation in it at all; he knew what he wanted and took it without preamble, his tongue sliding against hers as she clung to him almost desperately.

When the kiss came to its natural end, they were both breathing heavily, bodies entwined and tangled in the covers of the bed. Jess bit her lip again but this time to keep back a smile as Becker leaned on her heavily, his hands grasping the pillow either side of her head.

"We shouldn't do this." As soon as he spoke, her heart dropped. She reached up to put her hands against his chest, fully intending on pushing him away so she could make her escape but Becker had other plans. He grabbed her hands once he realised her intention, pinning them against the pillow as his lower half pinned hers to the bed. "I didn't mean it like that, Jess."

"Then how do you mean it?" She couldn't look at him, couldn't bring herself to see the pity she expected to see in his eyes.

"Look at me, Jessica." The commanding tone was one she'd heard before when he was issuing commands to his men while out in the field and it was on she instinctively responded to without thought. Caught by his stare, Jess could only lie there and wait, certain that what he was about to say was going to break her heart. "I meant that we can't risk it. I can't risk it."

"Risk what...?" Confused, she gave him a questioning look, arching an eyebrow when a blush stole across his features. "Becker?"

"We don't have any condoms," he pointed out, staring at the pillow beside her head rather than holding her gaze. "And while I know the medicals we have at the ARC mean we're both clean..." He didn't wait for her slightly sheepish nod of agreement and thankfully didn't ask her how long it'd been for her before he ploughed on. "We can't take the risk of you getting pregnant, Jess. It's just not safe, not here. As much as I want, well, you, I can't chance losing you, Jessica. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you while we're here..."

She tugged her hands free of his and raised her arms to wrap them around his neck, drawing him down so she could kiss him thoroughly. "Point one," she said a little breathlessly some time later, "while I appreciate the thought, we didn't lose anything last night or earlier this morning so your concern is a little bit late. Point two," she continued, ignoring the flash of guilt in his eyes and hurrying on before he could interrupt, "I have an IUD. I got migraines taking the pill so my doctor suggested it as an alternative. So you can rest assured there will be no baby Becker's in the near future unless we find a way home."

She tried to hide the vague disappointment she felt at the thought, her mind's eye filling instantly with the image of a little boy with his father's hazel eyes and charming smile, but wasn't sure she was entirely successful when his expression softened and he closed the gap between them to kiss her gently.

"Another incentive to get home then, isn't it?" With a reluctance that was clear to see, he rolled away from her and climbed out of bed.

Unable and unwilling to resist, Jess lay back against the pillows and admired the view as he got dressed, struggling only a little with the unfamiliar clothes. When he turned and caught her watching, he arched an eyebrow but the corners of his mouth twitched.

"Enjoying the show?"

"Very much. I'll be looking for an encore tonight." She winked cheekily and laughed when he threw the slip he'd helped her out of the night before at her head. "Though maybe in reverse."

Sitting up to pull the slip over her head, she gasped when she realised he'd moved closer during her momentarily distraction and he took advantage of her surprise to kiss her sounding. "I'll give you a show later if you promise to return the favour."

It was a promise Jess would happily keep.

* * *

 

She spent hours searching through records and archives, and just as she was about the give up, Sarah found the information she'd been looking for.

Excited at the discovery, she printed out the pages and hurried towards Lester's office. She kept shuffling through the papers, a smile on her face, as her once and future boss summoned the members of the core team to his office so they could all hear what she had to say together.

Danny arched an eyebrow in question as he moved to sit in the chair beside her. Sarah could only smile at him in response, and reached out to take the hand he offered her, giving it a quick squeeze. Her smile widened when he lifted their joined hands to his lips, pressing a kiss against her knuckles as Lester pretended to look elsewhere and the rest of the team filed in.

"What have you found?" Matt asked without ceremony, leaning against the far wall of Lester's office.

"Becker's alive," Sarah answered, spreading the print outs in front of her on Lester's desk. "Or he was, in 1502. He was knighted by King Henry VII on the 28th May 1502. Detailed records of that time are few and far between but I found a mention of him in one of the archives I used while working at the museum."

"Action Man's a knight now?" Connor grinned at the discovery. "Cool!"

"Yes, yes." Lester rolled his eyes, a touch of derision that was mostly for show in his voice. "Good for Sir Becker. Now, is there any mention of those archives of Jess? Did he find her?"

Sarah grinned and shuffled through the pages until she found the one she was looking for, brandishing it with a flourish before holding it out for Lester. "If you're referring to Lady Jessica Becker, then yes. He found her, and so did I."

"Lady Becker?" Abby's eyes widened even as a gleeful smile played on her lips. "As in they...?"

"I found their names in the marriage records of that time. They were married on the 15th April 1502, before he was knighted." Sarah intercepted the knowing smirk exchanged between Abby and Emily and smiled again. "It means he found her and wherever they are, at least we know they're together."

As the females in the room shared a happy look, and even Lester appeared pleased, the grin slid from Danny's face and leaned forward in his seat. "What about Patrick? Did you find anything...?"

Sarah hesitated; she hadn't planned on sharing that discovery with the group as a whole. Biting her lip, aware of the expectant gazes of the others in the room weighing on her heavily, she focused solely on Danny. "I found a record of someone who might have been Patrick," she answered softly. "I can't say for certain, Danny, there's no mention of a name, just a description..."

"Tell me." His voice was quiet but firm. "Please, Sarah."

Turning fully in her chair to face him, Sarah kept her eyes fixed on Danny as she spoke. "A man was executed a few days before Becker and Jess got married. He was charged with treason, after trying to kidnap the daughter of the King and Queen, along with another woman, but the name was either never recorded or has been lost over the years. It might not be him, Danny. It could be a coincidence."

"It's him." Grief lined Danny's face and all of a sudden he seemed so much older. Still, he tried to smile for her sake. "At least now I know and can stop looking."

"I'm sorry, Danny." Forgetting about the others, Sarah moved to crouch beside his seat, taking one of his hands in both of hers. "I am so, so sorry."

Lifting his free hand to her cheek, Danny attempted a second smile, one that was a little more convincing. "At least I've still got you."

"You'll always have me." That was a promise she fully intended to keep.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Lester cleared his throat and broke the moment. "My condolences for your loss, Quinn." Sounding surprisingly sincere, Lester waited until the former team leader had composed himself before continuing. "If you could continue your research, Doctor Page, and see if you can find out what happened to Jess and Becker, the rest of you can continue with your duties as normal." He gave the current team a stern glare when it looked like they were about to protest. "There is nothing more we can do. It's up to them now."

From his place beside Abby, Connor nudged his fiancé with his elbow and gave her a reassuring grin. "They'll be okay, Abs. At least we know they're alive and away from dinosaurs. And Becker won't let anything happen to Jess."

"Nor will Jess let anything happen to Becker," Emily added confidently. "They will return home as soon as they are able. Everyone else did."

Abby and Matt exchanged a look. For their partner's sakes, they forced a smile in an agreement but neither were quite as convinced.

* * *

 

Though there were some aspects of her new life that Jess thoroughly relished, there were many aspects of her old life she desperately missed and was certain Becker did, too. She could sum up the things she loved in one word, actually, and that word was 'Becker'.

Getting to wake up with him beside her every morning, and go to sleep with him every night, being free to spend time with him and get to know him and be able to show how she felt without worrying about what anyone would think or say... That was a brilliant element of her new life, a truly brilliant experience she wouldn't trade for anything.

She missed her old life, though. She missed her family and friends. She missed the ARC. She even missed the dinosaurs (the nice ones at least) and the adrenaline-inducing anomaly alerts that kept her on her toes. She missed being able to do something that made her feel useful, missed being able to watch over and guide her teams and help them make it home safely.

And she knew Becker felt the same way. He worried about his friends and teammates, about his men. He worried about his family, too, particularly his mother, who he'd told her had never approved of his decision to join the Army and would be distraught when Lester broke the news to her that her son was MIA.

She'd done her best to comfort him but the truth was she not only shared his guilt but blamed herself for it, too. If it hadn't been for her, Becker would never have gone through the anomaly. He wouldn't have gotten himself stranded in the past, hundreds of years before his parents were born. He would be safe at home, in the right time, able to do the job he loved and excelled at, with his family and his friends all within reach.

All except her, but sometimes Jess wondered if that was a trade he would be willing to make.

Oh, she knew he loved her – he'd told her, more than once, during the months they'd spent in the past, and he had no qualms about showing it, either. Not in the fifteenth century, away from the prying and all too knowing eyes of those just waiting for one of them to make a move.

But sometimes, when he tossed and turned restlessly in bed beside her, murmuring things and names, Jess wondered if he'd really thought his decision through. Yes, he'd saved her and yes, they were together but at what cost? What if they never made it home again? What if they did only to find everything was different? What if they made it back and there'd been an incident at the ARC and some if not all of their teammates and friends were dead? Becker would never forgive himself for not being around the protect them and Jess would never forgive herself for being the reason for his guilt.

She did her best to push those fears from her mind, knowing they weren't going to do her or Becker any good. She had a job to do, and while it was extremely different to the one she'd loved and lost, Jess was still a perfectionist at heart and prided herself on doing her best.

Even if her best was sewing up a tear in one of Mary's gowns before it was discovered by her mother. At the thought of the princess, Jess smiled fondly. The young girl, though royalty, was still a child at heart and loved nothing more than playing with her siblings, even some of their exploits got her in trouble with her parents on occasion.

Her role as Lady-in-Waiting to the young Princess was rewarding, but in a very different way to her role as Field Co-ordinator at the ARC. She enjoyed being around the girl who didn't let her position influence her character, enjoyed the moments where Mary was able to be just a little girl and the even rarer moments in which the Queen was able to let her guard down and just be a doting mother to her children. Jess felt privileged to be able to witness such moments, knowing it was a historian's dream to be able to be a fly on the wall in such a prominent household.

If and when she ever made it back to the present time, Jess promised herself she'd study her history and research the family she'd begun to fall in love with. Sometimes, she even toyed with the idea of writing a diary chronicling her experiences with them, maybe finding a way to publish it anonymously...

Shaking her head at her own musings, she told herself sternly that she was getting far too carried away. For one, there was no guarantee she'd ever make it back to her rightful time and, for another, she was no writer and even if she had been, the chances of anyone taking her musings seriously or even being slightly interested in them without knowing how she'd come to be in possession of such information...

"Lady Becker! Lady Becker, come quickly!" Red faced and panting, Margaret, who Jess now knew to be an unmarried Maid-of-Honour serving Queen Elizabeth, leaned heavily against the doorway of the room, a hand pressed against her heaving chest. "You must come!"

Setting the dress she was mending aside and getting to her feet, Jess bit back a curse as her shoes got tangled in the under-layer of her skirts. "What is it? Is it Princess Mary? Has something happened?"

"No, my Lady. It is your husband. The Queen bids that you come quickly!"

Margaret fled from the room, giving Jess no choice but to follow. Her heart rose in her throat, fear causing it to race unsteadily as she raced through the hallways of the palace after the older woman who could run surprisingly fast for a woman of her age. Margaret did have an advantage, Jess thought in frustration as she almost tripped over her skirts, in that she was used to being surrounded by so much material whereas Jess certainly was not.

Despite the twists and turns and multitude of hallways and narrow passageways she was led down, Jess realised where she was being led and felt a wave of dread so strong her legs suddenly felt weak beneath her.

The physicians rooms. They were heading to the physician's rooms, which meant Becker...

"Lady Becker." Sir Lawrence stood outside of the wooden door leading into the rooms in question, stopping the women in their tracks. As Margaret attempted to catch her breath, Jess stood staring at him, hating the grave expression on his face. "It is with regret that I must inform you..."

"What happened?" Her voice breaking, her eyes stinging, Jess looked from him to the closed door. "Is he...?"

"He lives," Sir Lawrence assured her, laying a heavy hand on her shoulder as he advanced. "We were ambushed as we rode through town. A disgruntled peasant thought to attack the King. Sir Hilary intervened."

"At what cost?" Jess demanded, entirely unsurprised that Becker would act to defend the king. All of the knights would but Becker took his role as protector seriously – he wouldn't have been there in the first place if he didn't. "Tell me, Lawrence. How is he?"

"I am unsure." Bowing his head, the older knight couldn't hold her gaze. "There was much blood, Lady Becker. You must prepare yourself..."

The door opened, its hinges creaking. The Queen appeared, pale-faced and shaken, and held out a hand for Jess, eyes full of sympathy that made the younger woman flinch.

"Come, Jessica," Queen Elizabeth commanded, taking Jess's arm when she could only stand and pray her legs would continue to support her waist. "Your husband needs you now."

* * *

 

Though she'd been told what had happened by numerous people, Jess hadn't quite been able to take any of it in. Her ability to focus on anything outside of Becker had been lost the moment she'd laid eyes on him, lying motionless on the cot in the court physician's rooms.

His bloodied shirt lay discarded on a bench not far away, his lower half covered by a sheet but his chest and the blood stained bandages covering it were exposed. His face was pale, its pallor alarming.

"He has sustained a serious wound," the physician had explained. "He had bled profusely, Lady Becker. I have done all I can for him but..."

The rest of the physician's assurances had been lost on her. As had Queen Elizabeth's tearful declaration that her husband's bravery should make her proud, and that Becker had done his country and his King a great service by taking the arrow meant for her husband.

At Jess's request, she had been left alone with Becker. As soon as he was able to be moved, she'd asked for it to be done and the ever grateful Royal couple had seen to it that their fallen knight had been carefully carried to the room he and Jess shared.

Excused from her other duties, Jess spent every minute of every day and every night at Becker's side, tending to him as best as she could. When his wound became infected and his temperature rose, she obediently followed the physician's precise instructions and wept at his side when she was sure no one was around to witness it.

"Please stay with me, Hil," she begged, taking his limp hand in hers and pressing a kiss to his palm. "Don't leave me. I need you, Becker. Please don't leave me."

Her heart broke at the thought of being without him, and it wasn't just because she'd then be alone in the wrong time. She didn't think she'd realised just how much she truly did love him until the threat of losing him to an infection that could have been treated so easily in their own time became a very real possibility. Whether in the fifteenth century or twenty-first century, she didn't want to be without him. Couldn't imagine it, in fact, and all of the times she'd come close to losing him kept replaying in her mind, tormenting her, making her worry that this time, his luck had finally run out.

"Stay with me," she urged, closing her eyes as she pressed his hand against her cheek. "Keep fighting Becker. Please."

On the fifth day, as she used a damp cloth and bowl of water to clean the sweat from his face and chest as his body battled the infection that had him in its grasp, she heard the door open and close without her visitor announcing themselves. Without turning away, Jess tensed but kept her focus on the task at hand.

"My Lady Becker." Though vaguely familiar, she couldn't identify the man who spoke without turning around. "Please accept my apologies for the intrusion..."

Glancing over her shoulder, Jess recognised one of Becker's fellow knights, Sir Edmund. His green gaze was locked on her, uncomfortably intent, so she turned away and refocused on her husband. "Sir Edmund. To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?"

The sarcasm was lost on him. Sir Edmund cleared his throat and she heard his boots against the floor as he took a step closer. "I wish to state my intentions towards you, Lady Becker, in the eventuality that Sir Hilary does not survive."

"Intentions?" Surprised caused her to look at him again, her fingers tightening around Becker's as she let their entwined hands rest on the bed at his side. "I'm afraid I don't understand?"

"And it is that which makes you all the more endearing, my lady. That, and your unusual way with words." Sir Edmund took another step towards her, his broad shoulders squared. "Should Sir Hilary pass from this life into the next, I wish to make you my wife. I will ensure that you are well provided for, Lady Becker, and all I request in return is that you perform your wifely duties."

" _Wifely duties?_ " Jess repeated in disbelief. "My husband is fighting for his life and you think it's appropriate to come here and, what, proposition me? Seriously?"

Sir Edmund frowned at the question. "I am sure I will not be alone in stating my intentions, my lady, but I had hopes that were I the first, your affections may be swayed towards me."

"Then I'm sorry to dash your hopes, Sir Edmund, but my affections lie solely with my husband and will remain with him no matter what happens." She swallowed the lump in her throat at the thought and attempted to glare at the knight standing before her. "I have no intention of marrying anyone other than my husband."

"You say that now, Lady Becker, but you will learn that court is no safe place for an unwed woman, not even a widow of a man as respected as Sir Hilary." Sir Edmund's eyes narrowed. "You should be grateful that I have come to you to state my intentions. There are those who would not do s and would instead presume to take what it is they desire."

A shudder danced its way along her spine and Jess turned away from him again. "Thank you for the warning, Sir Edmund, but my mind will not be swayed. Not by you or anyone else."

She half expected him to stay and fight his cause but was relieved when she heard the door open and close again as he left. Her shoulders slumping, Jess lifted Becker's hand to her lips once again.

"Come back to me," she murmured softly. "Please. I need you to wake up and come back to me."

Becker slept on, oblivious to her plea.

* * *

 

Sir Edmund's prediction proved to be accurate. In the days following his proposition, there was a steady stream of visitors to the couple's room – not well wishers as Jess hoped but prospective suitors, all of who wished to express their interest in her and some who did so more aggressively than others, making Jess grateful that Sir Lawrence was a regular visitor out of respect for his fallen friend.

Rather than being flattered by the attention, Jess was disgusted by it and said as much to Queen Elizabeth when the other woman paid her a brief visit to enquire after Becker's condition. The Queen had merely laughed humourlessly and not for the first time wondered aloud about the younger woman's view of the world in which they lived.

"A good woman," Elizabeth explained gently, "is a man's most precious possession. She can aid him in his ambitions, support him through times of strife and bear him heirs he needs to secure his position. All powerful men seek a loyal wife, Jessica, and you have proven yourself to be admirably so."

Whenever she tried pointing out that her loyalty only extended as far as the man she was currently married to, no one seemed to listen so Jess eventually stopped trying. When Becker's fever broke and the physician announced that he was over the worst, she allowed herself to cry in front of the old man who patted her shoulder comfortingly.

"He is strong," she was told, "with much to live for."

Still, it was another three days before Becker woke up. Closing her eyes for what she told herself would only be a few moments, Jess was startled awake by the sensation of someone running their fingers through the ends of her hair.

Sitting up quickly, blinking to clear the sleep from her eyes, she expected to find one of her unwelcome admirers in the room so was overjoyed when she realised the man gazing at her tenderly was the one she'd been happily dreaming about.

"Becker!" She threw her arms around him, mindful of his chest wound, and pressed her face into the crook of his neck when he shifted to return her embrace. She couldn't stop the tears that streamed down her cheeks and soaked his skin and tightened her hold on him when he tried to move away to look at her. "Don't do that to me again," she mumbled, her voice muffled against him. "Ever."

His chuckle was wry, his voice hoarse from days of disuse. "I'll try," he promised gently, "but you might have to tell me exactly what it is I can't do."

Pulling away, Jess wiped at her cheeks before getting up from the chair she'd been sitting in to settle on the bed beside him. "You got shot," she told him matter-of-factly, "by a bow and arrow. Stupid man. A few inches and it would've hit your heart and I'd be a widow. Well, probably not a widow. I'd probably have been forced into another marriage by now."

"Forced into...?" The hand he'd moved to cover hers tightened and when she looked up at him, she saw his eyes had narrowed. "Have I missed something?"

Jess hesitated, biting her lip as she looked at him before cuddling against his chest, letting her head rest on his shoulder. "It's nothing important. I'll explain it when you're better."

Leaning back against the headboard, Becker let his eyes close when he heard her breathing change and her body relax against him. He had no idea what had gone one while he'd been unconscious but promised himself he'd find out.

* * *

 

His teeth were gritted as the other knights welcomed him back. He tried to tell himself they were only behaving in a manner appropriate to the time and to their lifestyles but that didn't help ease his anger at the thought of how quickly and how eagerly some of them had been to try and take his place.

He'd caught the admiring glances Jess had been given when their presence had been required at one of the King's feasts but had been able to ignore them, confident that they would come to nothing and, he'd admit it, smug in the knowledge that Jess had and always would chose him above all others. His injury and resulting illness had shaken that confidence and his hands clenched into fists at the thought of any of the smiling men around him trying to get as close to his wife as he was.

Not that he thought she'd be willing to let him be so easily replaced; not for one second did he doubt her feelings for him or her faithfulness to the vows they'd taken. He'd been shocked when she'd laughed a little bitterly when he'd assured her of that and told him that it was that faithfulness, that loyalty, that seemed to make her such an appealing catch for the eligible bachelors amongst the knights.

As much as he didn't want to understand it, Becker did. It stemmed from the same need his fellow soldiers felt, a need to find someone to come home to, someone willing and able to put up with the baggage that came with being a soldier's wife and stand by their partner no matter what life threw at them. Knowing that there was someone to come home to, a warm body to curl around and chase away the memories of the difficult days, was a strong desire common amongst those who fought for their countries, no matter what the decade. For Becker, knowing it was more than just having the mere physical connection waiting for him was worth more than words could say.

Even so, the knowledge that they thought he could be so easily forgotten – and the memory of the discomfort on Jess's face as she'd eventually confessed what was bothering her – made it difficult to join in with the banter he'd become accustomed to and made it even harder to hold back during their usual friendly sparring.

It didn't go unnoticed, either, and he wasn't at all surprised when he was summoned to see the king when the day's training was done.

Standing at attention, his hands clasped behind his back, Becker fixed his gaze on a spot on the ornately carved back of the wooden throne in which the King sat rather than looking at the man directly.

"I owe you a debt," King Henry began. "You saved my life."

"I did what anyone would, Your Grace." And had been rewarded for it by the others making moves on his wife, Becker added silently.

"Not anyone," the King corrected softly. "I wish to repay your good service with a deed of equal value, Sir Hilary. I would offer you a title and lands but my wife is certain you would only refuse."

"I have no need for either, Sire. You have already given my wife and I a place to live and a way to earn our keep. There is nothing more we need." Unless opening an anomaly was within the King's abilities but Becker doubted it.

"You need a son, an heir," King Henry mused, "but that is not something I can supply. Tell me, Sir Hilary, is all well between yourself and the Lady Becker?"

Becker choked, his eyes growing wide at the unspoken insinuation. "Everything is fine," he managed after a moment, biting the inside of his mouth in a futile attempt at keeping the blush he could feel creeping up his neck from blossoming in his cheeks.

"Are you certain?" King Henry leaned forward in his chair. "If not, there are solutions I could offer. The Lady Becker, while certainly beautiful and with her charms, has a certain duty to you. If she is unable to fulfil that duty, it is within my power to find you someone who is. Your marriage will of course remain binding but another may be able to provide you with a son if your wife cannot."

For several seconds, Becker could only stare at the King in open-mouthed shock. He shook himself mentally and found his hands clenching into fists once more. "I have no need for an heir, Your Grace. I have only need for my wife."

King Henry waited a moment before nodding, an approving smile spreading across his face. "I had hoped you would say that. Many men in the court would have taken a mistress long ago; it is rare to find a fellow man who does not seek entertainment outside of the marriage bed. However, it has not escaped my notice nor that of my Queen that yourself and Jessica are no longer happy here."

"No." Becker forced his fists to relax. "It isn't that we're ungrateful for all that you've done for us but..." He hesitated, searching for an answer that would be somewhat truthful and wouldn't offend. "We've been here since before we were married. It isn't the life we envisioned for ourselves. We thought we'd have a quiet home, a quiet life. And that isn't something we can get here at court."

The King nodded again, slowly and thoughtfully. He was silent for a while before sitting up straighter, a smile lighting his face. "Then it is decided. As a reward for your bravery and a token of appreciation from my wife and I, we will gift you with a home in the country." He held up a hand when Becker opened his mouth to protest. "A small home, where you and your wife can dwell in peace and quiet. Though please understand, Sir Hilary, that should I have need for your services, I will call upon you and expect you to answer."

"Of course, Your Grace." A little stunned, Becker bowed as he knew was expected of him. "Thank you. You are very generous."

"Generous I may be but I am not sure my daughter will be quite as pleased when she discovers the Lady Becker will be leaving her service." The King smiled fondly as he spoke, aware of the close bond that had developed between the young princess and the woman who'd taken care of her during her short time in captivity.

As soon as he was excused, Becker hurried to the rooms he shared with Jess, taking her by surprise when he grabbed her around the middle and twirled her around before kissing her soundly.

"What was that for?" Jess asked with a breathless laugh, her arms lifting automatically to loop around his neck. "Not that I'm complaining, you understand."

Giving in to the urge to kiss her again, Becker shifted his arms around her and bent slightly at the knees, causing her to squeal when he lifted her and carried her towards their bed. "What would you say if I told you we could get away from the palace and everyone in it?"

"The knights, you mean." She rolled her eyes a little but tightened her hold when he would have moved away. "I wouldn't complain about that, either," she told him honestly. "And it'd be nice to not have to try and ignore your very many admirers amongst the single and not so single women here."

Grinning at the slight jealousy in her voice, he leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. "How does a nice little house in the country sound? Somewhere we can be us and not have to worry about fitting in with everyone else?"

"It sounds perfect," she sighed, a little wistfully he thought. "Almost as perfect as actually being able to go home."

"Then pack your things. We're leaving tomorrow."

* * *

 

Their new home was everything they wanted it to be – short of being in the wrong century, of course.

There was no one else around for miles, no one watching their every move and staring at them suspiciously every time they slipped up and forgot to try and adjust their speech patterns to fit the time they were in.

They spent their first few days in the house getting it to their liking, and after that were admittedly lazy, taking advantage of being alone to do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted.

After that, they fell into a comfortable routine that included going for long walks together through the woodland near their house, taking the anomaly detector with them in the hopes they'd accidentally stumble on a way back home. When Becker began to get restless, Jess offered to spar with him, surprising him by picking up the art of fencing quite quickly. When she asked him to teach her how to use the bow and arrow – weapons that weren't often used in battle but which Becker had taken a liking to during his time at court as it was the closest thing to shooting he could find, he obliged her request and they spent many a day shooting at targets they'd set up on the stone wall that surrounded their property.

While both were still eager to return home to the twenty-first century, they found their new lifestyle far more to their liking than living at the palace. It felt very domestic, almost normal, and Becker had no complaints about being able to end his days with Jess curled up around him, her head against his shoulder and hand against his heart, legs entwined as they lay in bed listening to the wind in the trees outside.

They weren't cut off entirely from civilisation. Once a week, they walked to the nearest town to trade and barter. Becker caught animals – wild birds and small game like rabbit and hares – while Jess focused her efforts on growing root vegetables in the small garden she'd cultivated next to their house.

There were of course communications between the palace and the household, too. Jess had been pleasantly surprised when Queen Elizabeth wrote to her a few days after their arrival at their new house and the two exchanged letters quite regularly, with the Queen confiding in Jess in one such letter that she was pregnant again and hoped for another son.

It was for that reason that neither Jess nor Becker were particularly alarmed when they heard a horse approach and looked to see a royal messenger riding towards them, even if the sight of the extra horse riding alongside him was a little unusual. Believing it to be simply another letter, Jess greeted the messenger with a warm smile and an offer of a drink of water.

"Thank you, Lady Becker, your kindness is appreciated." The messenger, however, didn't dismount from his horse. "I bring a message from King Henry. He seeks your immediate return, Sir Hilary. He has received a challenge to the throne and wishes you to join him in battle."

"Battle...?" If not for Becker's arm around her middle, Jess was quite sure she would have fallen. She looked from the messenger to Becker, her husband's grim expression doing nothing to ease the knot of anxiety that settled in her stomach. "No. You're not going. You can't..."

"I promised, Jessica." As the messenger turned his horse away to give them some privacy, Becker turned to cup her face in his hands, letting their foreheads rest together. "It was a condition of our coming here, and I can't disobey him. It would be treason. I'm sorry, sweetheart." He brushed the tears that slid down her cheeks away with his thumbs. "I'll come back to you. I swear."

"You'd better." Trying to compose herself and failing miserably, Jess wrapped her arms around him and held on tight. "If you don't..."

"I will." He didn't want to think about the alternative, not Jess on her own or Jess forced into a marriage with someone she didn't like let alone love. "I'm sure Queen Elizabeth would welcome you back if you wanted to go back to court while I'm gone."

Jess shook her head, just as he'd worried she would. "I want to stay here. This is the nearest thing we have to a home and I'm not leaving it. I'll be okay." She smiled bravely, for his sake as much as her own. "I'll be here waiting for you to come home."

Knowing she would be and praying silently that he wouldn't let her down, Becker ignored the watching messenger and kissed her deeply, pressing against her and wishing they had more time to say goodbye.

In what felt like a matter of minutes, their peaceful existence was shattered. Jess wrapped her arms around her middle as she was left standing in front of their house, watching as he disappeared over the horizon.

After he vanished from sight, she wiped away the tears that had fallen from her eyes and walked slowly into the house that no longer felt like a home, only to hear the beeping of the anomaly detector as it suddenly came to life...

* * *

 

It was strange to be researching events that she knew had happened hundreds of years ago... yet were still somehow unfolding. One day would result in nothing, the next she'd run the same search and Sarah would discover something new.

While there was little to go on, she was able to find the occasional mention of the missing ARC team members, and what little she found had to be enough to satisfy the deep seated need the others left behind had for information on their missing friends.

Her lab had become the meeting place for the other members of the team in between anomaly alerts and their regular duties. They'd either help her or keep her well fed and watered, eager to learn everything she was able to discover.

During the beginning of her fifth week at the new ARC, Sarah made a discovery she was loathe to share with the others. Her heart sunk and her stomach knotted with dread and she was almost pleased when the anomaly alert went off and the team left to deal with it.

Her relief didn't last very long, however, as she was summoned to the hub only to be told gleefully that the anomaly led to the fifteenth century – and was a possible way home for their missing teammates.

"Have you found anything further?" Emily asked as the core team reluctantly remained to the ARC, after no activity at the anomaly site led to them being forced to leave it being guarded by a small security team comprised of Becker's men. "Is there any mention of Jess or Becker and what happened to them?"

The way she hesitated gave it away, and Sarah found herself ushered into Lester's office, the team gathering around to hear what she had to say.

"There's no record of either of them after October 1502," she began by saying.

"There wouldn't be, would there? If they came through before then?" Lester looked around to see if anyone else was as confused as he was, and was gratified to see the core team seemed to share his lack of concern at Sarah's announcement. "They've only been gone five weeks. You've tracked them down from April to May, which means they should be coming home any day now..."

It was Danny who answered, shaking his head. "Time doesn't work that way through the anomalies, Lester. A few weeks here could be a few months there."

"And that does seem to be the case," Sarah continued before anyone else could speak. "If Jess is the same Jessica that Queen Elizabeth exchanged letters with up to October 1502, and I have every reason to believe she is as the name Jessica wasn't very common. In fact, the first reference to it outside of these letters was in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice so the chances of there being two Jessica's in 1502 is small to the point of being non-existent." Taking a moment to catch her breath, Sarah looked down at the records she'd printed off. "Sir Hilary Becker accompanied King Henry VII into battle when his claim to the throne was challenged by a distant relative of the House of Lancaster. It was a short but brutal battle with many casualties on both sides."

"Was Becker one of those casualties?" Abby's grip on Connor's hand tightened as the couple stood together near the door. "Sarah?"

Lifting her head to meet Abby's gaze, Sarah shrugged helplessly. "I don't know," she said honestly. "I wish I could say with certainty that he survived but there is no mention of him after the record of who was summoned to fight alongside the King."

"What about Jess?" Sitting forward in her seat to see Sarah past Danny, who sat in the chair between them, Emily didn't react when Matt let a hand drift to rest on her shoulder in a gesture of solidarity. "You said she was exchanging letters with the Queen up until October 1502. Why did those letters stop then?"

"Again, I wish I could tell you." Sarah's expression was pained. "They simply stopped. The last letter in the collection that was uncovered is dated the 19th October 1502. It was written a few days after the battle began, sent by Queen Elizabeth enquiring after her friend's wellbeing and inviting her to return to the palace so that they could wait for news of their husbands together. The letter must have been undelivered as it was found amongst Queen Elizabeth's belongings, with those written to the Queen by Jess."

The revelation was met by momentary silence. The group looked at one another, each fearing the worst but no one willing to give voice to their fears.

"Maybe... Maybe they both came through the anomaly, yeah?" Connor suggested hopefully. "Maybe that's why there's no record of them after then, they both disappeared because they both came home?"

"Maybe, Connor." Matt gave the dark haired scientist a nod, unwilling to dash the hope by pointing out that the longer the anomaly remained open with no activity, the less likely it was that that scenario was true. "I guess we just have to wait. The anomaly shows no signs of getting weaker. Maybe one or both of them will come through it soon."

* * *

 

She stood in the small clearing, staring at the flickering lights in front of her as though it was the first anomaly she'd ever seen. Strangely, though she'd been hoping and wishing for one to appear every day for six months, Jess felt no desire to go through it.

Not on her own.

Even if she'd known with absolute certainty that it would lead her home, back to the friends and family she loved and missed so much, she wouldn't step through it.

Not without Becker.

She wouldn't leave him on his own here, not when there was a chance he'd come home to her. She wouldn't abandon him, no matter what she knew he would have told her to do had he been there.

She squared her shoulders and turned on her heel, picking up her skirts as she walked through the woodland towards the small house not too far away.

Away from the anomaly and the potential route back to the present that it offered her.

It wouldn't be home, anyway, she told herself. Even if it led her back to the day she'd left, without Becker at her side, it wouldn't be home.

* * *

 

The house was cold and dark. It looked abandoned, unloved, and sent a shiver down his spine as he wearily dismounted the horse he'd procured.

Quietly, exhaustion clinging to his limbs like leaden weights, Becker made his way to the front door, turning the handle slowly.

It opened without resistance, permitting him to enter the house.

He stepped over the threshold and waited, expecting Jess to appear any minute and throw herself at him. He frowned when there was no sign of her, not even a creak on a floorboard as she made her way through the house to see who her unannounced visitor was.

A cold fear spread through him, spiking when everything remained still around him. What if she'd had another visitor while he'd been gone? What if someone else had decided to take his place and had hurt her when she'd refused?

Forcing himself to move, he searched the small dwelling systematically, keeping their bedroom until last, not sure if he wanted to know what waited for him inside of it.

When there was no sign of her anywhere else, Becker swallowed the nausea that rose in his throat and forced himself to continue his search, pushing open the door of the bedroom that suddenly seemed a dozen times heavier than he knew it to be.

Whatever he'd been expecting to find, it wasn't to feel the point of a sword at his throat on entering the dark room.

"Who are you and what do you want?" The voice was hard, the hand that held the blade steady. Becker felt his knees go weak but it was with relief and not fear as he lifted a hand to gently push the sword away.

"It's me, Jess." His voice was quiet, gruff with emotion he was trying not to let consume him. "It's me."

"Oh, thank god." The sword fell to the floor with a clatter and she was in his arms in an instant. He could feel her trembling but had no time to mention it as she reached up to grasp his face, drawing him down so she could kiss him desperately. "I heard the horse and I hoped but I couldn't... Thank you. Thank you for coming back to me. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Lifting her easily, pushing his exhaustion aside, he carried her over to the bed as she peppered his face with kisses, fingers slipping under his clothes to get at the skin and muscles beneath. His own hands weren't idle once he'd settled her on the bed, nimble fingers deftly unlacing her dress as he claimed her mouth again and again.

"Wait, wait." Tearing her lips from his, Jess was breathing heavily, one of her hands tangled in his hair, the other under his shirt. "There's an anomaly," she said between gasps. "It opened just after you left and it's still there. Or was, earlier today."

"What?" Pulling back to stare at her in the dim light of the room, Becker frowned as his brain slowly kicked it over his libido. "You didn't go through it?"

"No. Not without you." Her eyes found his and he saw her bit her lip. "I told you I'd be here waiting, Becker, and I meant it. My home is where you are. Whether that's here or through the anomaly or some godforsaken era with creatures that try to eat me, I don't care. I love you and I'm not going anywhere without you."

Unable to think of what to say, Becker responded in the only way he knew how. He covered the gap between them, kissing her deeply, tongue duelling with hers as he fought to pour everything he felt for her into the act. "I love you," he murmured against her lips. "So bloody much. Jess, my lovely Jess."

He could taste her tears and it was that that caused him to draw back again. The mood between them shifted and he got off the bed, holding a hand out to help her up.

"If it's still there, we'll go through." There was a certain amount of anxiety involved in making the decision, fear of the unknown combining with a worry that they should stick with the lesser of two evils making them both nervous. "Pack everything. If we don't make it home, we can dump what we don't need."

Nodding, Jess tightened her grip on his hand for a few moments before letting go to do as he said.

* * *

 

A short time later, the couple stood in front of the flickering anomaly under the light of an almost full moon. Jess shivered in the coolness of the night and Becker moved closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"We don't have to do this," he said quietly, his earlier confidence fading at the sight of the doorway that could either take them home or strand them in another time completely. "We could stay here, live out the rest of our lives."

"But we'd always wonder." She sighed softly. "We'd never know if this could have been our way home."

After staring at the anomaly for a few more moments, Becker moved his arm from around her shoulders only to take her hand, lacing their fingers together as he lifted it to his lips. "No matter what happens, we stay together."

"Even if we make it home?" Tilting her head to look at him, she bit her lip, hope and apprehension in her blue gaze. "I won't hold you to this, Becker. Not if you want out of it. I know you wouldn't have married me had the circumstances been different."

"I would." He answered quickly, with a certainty that obviously surprised her. "Maybe not so soon," he admitted with a sheepish shrug. "I'd have liked to take you to dinner first but we're beyond that now and this is so much better than anything I'd imagined. You're stuck with me, Jess. For as long as you'll have me."

"Till death do us part it is, then." Her smile was shaky, her heart in her eyes. "I just wanted to be sure we were on the same page."

"We are." Squeezing her hand, he took a deep breath and moved closer to the anomaly. "Time to go home. Wherever that is."

Falling into step beside him, Jess didn't hesitate in walking through the anomaly, side by side with her husband.

* * *

 

The security team that greeted them did so with enthusiasm. The soldiers were obviously pleased to see both their Captain and their Field Co-ordinator, and wasted no time in announcing their return to the rest of the ARC via the comms.

In what felt like no time at all, the newly returned couple were ushered into a car and driven back to the ARC, where they were greeted with smiles and the occasional hug (mostly for Jess) and pats on the back (mostly for Becker) and were hurried through the corridors to the control room, where the core team waited impatiently.

Once there, there were more hugs and manly back pats. Jess found herself swept off her feet – quite literally – by Connor, moments after being released by Abby and glanced over the scientists shoulder to see a scowl momentarily arrange Becker's features before it vanished. She met his gaze and smiled at him, satisfied when he smiled back somewhat sheepishly and turned to accept the cautious hug Sarah was waiting to bestow on him.

After Connor let her go and moved to greet Becker, Jess found herself standing face-to-face with Lester, who studied her seriously before sighing as he, too, pulled her into an embrace.

Tears stung her eyes at the "welcome home" her boss whispered in her ear, and she blinked them away rapidly as he released her and Becker moved to stand at her side, taking her hand even as their beaming teammates stood around them.

"So I hear congratulations are in order," Connor said after a short pause of everyone just staring at each other. "Lady Becker now, ain't it? And Sir Hilary?"

The couple exchanged a surprised look before Becker wrapped his arm around Jess's waist, drawing her closer to his side. "You'd be right on both accounts. Though I think we'll just stick with Jess and Becker for now. No need to stand on ceremony, Temple."

"So how does it feel to be approaching your 512th wedding anniversary?" Abby asked mischievously. "That's quite a feat, you know. Think you'll be making the record books for sure."

"For now, though, I'm sure you both like to get reacclimatised, readjust to the twenty-first century?" Lester glanced at their attire, arching an eyebrow. "I'm not sure swords would be much use when hunting dinosaurs, Captain."

Becker merely shrugged while Jess blushed as she looked down at herself and remembered how the old style dress accentuated her figure. "A change of clothes would be nice. And a shower," she added, wrinkling her nose at the thought of the luke warm baths she'd had to endure.

"And a good night's sleep," Becker chimed in. "It was probably somewhere close to midnight when we left."

"How long were you there?" Matt asked curiously, wrapping his arm easily around Emily's shoulders as she moved to stand at his side.

"It has been five weeks for us," Emily answered before they could ask. "But Sarah and Danny explained that time is different through the anomalies so we are unsure as to how long it has been for you."

"Six months, give or take a few days," Jess answered quietly. "It's been six months for us."

Six months that neither would change for anything if the look they exchanged was anything to go back.

Having said their hellos and welcome backs, the couple were allowed to head to the locker room, where their twenty-first century belongings waited for them in their lockers. As Jess struggled to undo the lacing of her dress, Becker moved to stand behind her, helping to loosen the bodice and then lingering when it was done.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly, moving his hand to rest on her hip as she leaned against him.

"We're home and we're together," Jess murmured, tilting her head back to look at him. "How could I be anything other than okay?"

Giving her a fond look, he kissed her softly before letting her go, moving over to his own locker. Jess watched him, a soft smile curling her lips.

Every cloud did have a silver lining, she thought to herself, and hers happened to come in the shape of her very own knight in shining armour.

* * *

  
_End_

 

**Author's Note:**

> And there we have it. There'll be a Danny/Sarah one-shot related to the 'verse coming soon, and if anyone has any requests for one-shots/scenes they'd like to see with Jess & Becker in this universe (either past or present), let me know and I'll see what I can do.


End file.
